When school starts this September the principal at Rainier Beach High School will answer to a different central office administrator. So will every other principal in the district.

Superintendent Ben Shuldiner announced on July 20 that Seattle Public Schools is scrapping its regional supervision model and replacing it with seven Executive Directors of Schools organized by grade level. The change takes effect for the 2026-27 school year.

Under the old structure, each executive director oversaw a geographic cluster of schools spanning elementary through high school.

Under the new model, directors specialize: three oversee elementary schools, one handles K-8 programs, one covers middle schools, one leads high schools and athletics, and one manages alternative and nontraditional schools.

Who's in charge of what

The seven named directors, according to the district's July 20 announcement:

  • Dr. James Mercer, Dr. Jessica Conte, Dr. Rena Deese — Executive Directors of Elementary Schools
  • Justin Hendrickson — Executive Director of K-8 Schools (overseeing Beacon Hill International School, Salmon Bay K-8, Catharine Blaine K-8, Pathfinder K-8, Madrona K-8, and others)
  • Dr. Katrina Hunt — Executive Director of Middle Schools (overseeing Aki Kurose, Mercer, Washington, Denny International, Eckstein, and others)
  • Christopher Carter — Executive Director of High Schools and Athletics (overseeing Rainier Beach, Cleveland STEM, Franklin, Garfield, West Seattle, Chief Sealth International, Ballard, Ingraham, Roosevelt, and Nathan Hale)
  • Lynn Herink — Executive Director of Alternative and Nontraditional Schools (overseeing The NOVA Project, Middle College High School at Seattle Central, and others)

Shuldiner, in his letter to families, said the reorganization aims to give principals "more collaboration and support" and give central office "a better understanding of the needs of individual schools and regions."

Budget context

The restructuring comes as SPS faces a nearly $100 million deficit. Shuldiner told a community forum audience that "at our current rate, we'll be insolvent in a year," according to a Seattle's Child report from July.

The executive director positions carry salaries of $175,822 to $237,203, according to a district job posting from June 1. The roles existed under the prior regional model, and incumbents were required to reapply.

Contract negotiations between SPS and the Seattle Education Association, representing more than 5,000 educators, began June 25. The current contract expires August 31.

What's not yet known

The announcement does not specify which elementary schools fall under which of the three elementary directors.

It also does not address how the grade-band model interacts with special education supervision or multilingual learner programs at schools like Beacon Hill International, which runs a dual-language program serving a largely immigrant and refugee community.

Seattle Schools Week Ahead

  • Wednesday, July 22 — Seattle School Board meeting, according to the Southeast Seattle Education Coalition. The board's first public session since the reorganization announcement. Agenda and public comment details at seattleschools.org.
  • Wednesday, September 2 — First day of school, grades 1-12.
  • Tuesday, September 8 — First day of school, preschool and kindergarten.