Dr. Eugene Medina, superintendent of the North Kitsap School District for the past nine years, has announced his plan to retire at the end of this school year in June 2008.
The formal announcement was made to the school district’s board of directors during a regular meeting Nov. 8.
Making the decision to retire wasn’t easy, according to Medina. “I love this work and this district. It has been and is professionally and personally rewarding and enriching to work with our school board, administrators, staff, students, parents and our community leaders,” he said. “We have been accomplishing amazing things over the years. While I know it is time for me to retire from the superintendent’s role, I know that our commitment to all students and focus on their success will continue undeterred. It is all about success for all students. It is our mission, it is our core work.”
Medina pointed out that making the announcement at this time is important because of the time-consuming process required for selecting a new superintendent. The school board will begin a lengthy process to work with an outside consultant, the community and district staff to identify the leadership qualities that are important for the next superintendent to have.
As to his next steps, Medina foresees that all the planned improvement efforts for 2007-08 and leadership transition activities will keep him very ocused until next June. “There’s a lot to do in the coming months to continue our momentum and prepare for the 2008-09 school year,” he said.
He will likely continue work in education and education leadership in his future after retirement, possibly teaching, training and consulting in education settings.
Beginning with the capital program and “Creating Our Future” processes in 2000, Medina has been busy. He worked to involve the community, staff, students and parents in developing the current vision and strategic goals for the district, part of which are the “Guiding Principles for Secondary Education.”
Additionally, Medina has led the district through the passage of two school levies, a $60.1 million bond that provided renovation for many of the district’s older schools as well as the swimming pool, and construction of the new Kingston High School.
Medina improved connections with the community through many “coffees” held in parents’ and other community members’ homes; helped to establish Common Threads, an group that promotes the value of diversity and multicultural understanding; and worked closely with Suquamish and S’Klallam tribal leadership to improve communications and educational opportunities for tribal students.
In addition, Medina is active in statewide and regional education leadership. He is a member of Superintendent Terry Bergeson’s Superintendents’ Advisory Committee and an organizer of Crossroads, a regional school districts’ collaborative focused on strategies for attaining funding for public education. Most recently he was involved in the HJR 4204 Simple Majority election.
He is also a member of the Poulsbo and Kingston chambers of commerce, Kingston-North Kitsap Rotary, the Kingston Citizens’ Advisory Council, and he works with city and county governments and the Public Facilities District to build partnerships.
(This information was provided by the North Kitsap School District.)
