Principal Carrie Wheeler of Viewlands Elementary and Principal Mary McDaniel of Highland Park Elementary each received $25,000 grants through the Alliance for Education's 2026 Thomas B. Foster Award for Excellence.

The annual award announced in May recognizes two Seattle Public Schools principals who have advanced educational justice and racial equity at their schools for at least three years. Each grant goes directly to the school for supplemental use, according to the Alliance for Education.

According to the Alliance's published list of past winners, no principal from Catharine Blaine K-8, Salmon Bay K-8, Adams Elementary, Loyal Heights, West Woodland, McClure Middle School, or Lawton Elementary has received the award. The sole winner from the Ballard/Queen Anne/Magnolia area was Phil Brockman of Ballard High School in 2008-2009.

The grants arrive as the district navigates a projected $100 million deficit. Superintendent Ben Shuldiner told KNKX on May 22 that SPS is "$100 million in the hole" on a $1.35 billion budget, with school closures, mergers, and consolidations still on the table. The district has already cut roughly $10 million from central office and $10 million from schools.

"The job is incredibly rewarding but also very difficult," Shuldiner said at the award celebrations. "They don't always get the praise they deserve."

Wheeler, in her eighth year at Viewlands, launched CoGen, a student advisory group of Black and Latinx fourth- and fifth-graders. She wove cultural celebrations including Día de los Muertos, Lunar New Year, and Ramadan into school programming, prioritized multilingual family engagement, and partnered with the PTSA to expand arts and music access. A former staff member performed a circus act at her award ceremony.

At Highland Park, McDaniel greets families by name outside the school every morning. Her community calls her a "warm demander." She grew the school's Extended Resource program, supported a Rainbow Alliance for LGBTQIA+ students and allies, and developed Mustang Blocks, a flexible scheduling model for learning beyond the traditional classroom.

When substitutes don't show, she steps in to teach. Students performed a music number to honor her at the celebration.

The Foster Award selection process weighs community nominations alongside school-level data on equity climate surveys, college and career readiness metrics, and standardized test proficiency in math and ELA, according to the Alliance. Nominations for the 2027 cycle have not yet been announced.