Q&A With Superintendent Sue Walker

 Shoreline School District Superintendent Sue Walker is in her 30th year with the Shoreline School District and fifth year as superintendent.  

She began teaching in the Shoreline Schools in 1973 at Einstein Middle School and moved to Shorewood when it opened in 1975.  At Shorewood, she was a math teacher and an assistant principal (1996-1999). She also taught one year at Shoreline HS (1985-86), and returned to Shorewood when Shoreline closed.
She moved to the district office in 1999 as the administrator in charge of student services and special programs.

She attended the University of Washington for her undergraduate degree in mathematics and did graduate work at Lesley College (MEd), Seattle Pacific University (Principal Credential) and Washington State (Superintendent Credential).  

She and her husband and just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary, and we have two married daughters who are graduates of Shorewood High School.  They are expecting our first grandchild this spring.

Patch asked Walker the following questions about the district via e-mail. Here are her responses:

1. How is construction of the new high school projects at Shorewood and Shorecrest proceeding?

Work on the high school projects has begun.  Site work is underway at Shorecrest for the 18 portable classrooms that will be located in the current southeast parking area during the construction. Demolition of the existing portables and H wing will occur during the summer.

At Shorewood, the city has approved the Conditional Use Permit and we expect to begin site work this summer.  Currently, existing space is being renovated to accommodate programs that will need to be relocated.

The complete phasing plans and schematic designs are on our High School Modernization Page, http://www.shorelineschools.org/modernization/

We are incredibly grateful for the support shown by the community for these projects through the passage of the bond issue in February 2010. In addition, the State has committed $35 million combined between Shorecrest and Shorewood.  New high schools are on the way!

2. How are the district finances being impacted by the state budget and voter anti-tax sentiment from last November? Will there be cuts in teaching and staff positions in Shoreline because of the loss of I-728 money and more?

We are in a bit of wait and see at this point, depending on the Legislature taking action on the State budget. We expect no I-728 or I-732 funding in the next biennium and we anticipate continued cuts to K-4 class size reduction, although we hope that doesn’t happen. Our greatest hope is that the Legislature will not make any further cuts to education and to protect “basic ed” per their “paramount duty” in the state constitution.

We have already used nearly $1 million in District reserves to offset the cuts imposed for the current biennium of approximately $5 million. In response to action taken by the Legislature, we will have to decide on any certificated staff reduction in force by May 15. We know, however, that Shoreline is in a much better position than many other districts as a result of the cost savings we have implemented over the last five years.  Stay tuned.

3. Shoreline continues to decline in student enrollment but is that a trend that will eventually turn around?

Yes, we expect our district enrollment to continue to decline slowly for another couple of years before we see a flattening out or any increase in the numbers of school-aged children. But with a decline in under-18 populations we have seen in Shoreline and Lake Forest Park over the last decade (as reported in the recent Census), we can’t expect any significant increase in enrollment in the near future.

4. The population in Shoreline and Lake Forest Park as demonstrated by Census figures is becoming more racially, ethnically and culturally diverse. Is that a challenge that the district has to make adjustments for and if so how is it going?

Our community is continually becoming more diverse. There are now 75 languages spoken by Shoreline Schools families, and we are doing a good job serving them.  I would encourage everyone to track the changes in our schools by logging onto the "District Accountability Report."

Closing the achievement gap between various demographic groups is a challenge for all school districts, Shoreline included.

We were very proud earlier this month to have been one of only six districts in the state to be honored on the College Board’s advanced placement achievement list. The list honored districts for increasing percentage of AP exams taken by African American, Hispanic/Latino and American Indian/Alaska Native students.

We credit the strong English Language Learners (ELL) programs in our schools and the many events celebrating the host of cultures among our families for our students’ success.

5. Is the district’s support to end school-age placements at Fircrest influenced by the need to save money or because you feel those students are better served at community schools outside of an institution? If the state gave the district more money to support programs at Fircrest would the district change its mind on its policy at Fircrest?

Governor Gregoire and the Department of Social and Health Services proposed the bill to end school-age placements at Fircrest that the District supported. We share the Governor and DSHS leadership’s belief that children under 18 should be placed in their community, near family, friends and schools, and not in institutions.

Budget considerations do play a role, however, as more and more school-aged children continue to be placed at Fircrest. The State is obligated to compensate the District fully for the cost of educating school-age children as long as they are placed at Fircrest and this becomes increasingly important as the State continues to close other such facilities and the Fircrest numbers grow.  (See the attached letter.)

6. The new Shorewood High School project that resulted in the move of the Shoreline Historical Museum from the Ronald School upset many historical preservation minded citizens. Do you think the district could have been more open in its negotiations during the process or would that have bogged down the process of moving forward with the school’s construction?

The District held community meetings at Shorewood very early on in the process of designing the new high school that included incorporating the Ronald School as part of the campus. The District negotiated at length with the Museum Board to reach the settlement last September. The Museum was able to use those funds to purchase its new site at 185th and Linden, and the District will be able to return the Ronald building to its historic use as a school.


7. Math, science and technology curriculum is being pushed nationwide by the Obama Administration, as well as by school officials, political and business leaders here. Shoreline students are involved in science fairs, robotics competitions and other activities involving science, math, engineering and technology. How does is the district doing in this subject area compared to other districts and is funding coming in to meet these goals?

Shoreline has been at the forefront of the use of technology in education on a local and national level for many years, and the community’s support of the four-year technology levy will help sustain those efforts. As Patch reported Room Nine Community School has adopted the STEAM program, adding arts as an emphasis along with STEM.

8. Are new studios being built at Shorecrest and Shorewood for the video production classes? What's the reasoning behind that?

Video production classes are among the most popular of our Career and Technical Education programs with two excellent teachers in Marty Ballew at Shorewood and Trent Mitchell at Shorecrest. They have been nationally recognized by the famous lip-dub videos and last December by The Social Experiment. The new classrooms at both schools will support those growing programs and related activities. However, the District video studio at Shoreline Center, which supports the combined Live Video Production class and the Shoreline Education Access channel, will remain and continue to be used for that class and live sports telecasts.