This fall, our School Board heard from staff, families, students, and community members through listening sessions and surveys about the qualities most important in our next Superintendent. Your input was incredibly helpful in shaping the profile and guiding the search process.
We then posted and shared the job opening broadly along with the “12 characteristics” we felt were most important for candidates to possess – as identified through listening sessions and input from the board.
The position opening then closed on November 30 with a total of 40 applicants from all different regions of the United States. Our board worked with our search firm partners, Ray and Associates, to narrow the applicant pool down to six top candidates that we interviewed the first week of January. At the end of the week, we selected the top finalists that we will invite to visit and interview in-person the week of January 19.
We are pleased to announce the four candidate finalists (in alphabetical order) for the next Superintendent of Vancouver Public Schools:
As we move into this important selection phase, continued community input is essential. Community members are invited to:
- Read each finalist’s biography
- Watch recordings of their first-round interviews
- Complete a short survey to share feedback on each candidate
Just as your input helped shape the search, your feedback on these finalists will help inform our School Board as it moves toward a final decision.
We also encourage families, staff, and community members to meet the finalists in-person and provide feedback at this event.
When: Tuesday, January 20, 2026, 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Where: Bates Center for Educational Leadership 2921 Falk Rd. Vancouver, WA 98661
What: Superintendent Finalists Meet and Greet and Q&A Sessions
Participants will complete very short feedback surveys after meeting with each candidate.
We encourage you to stay the entire time as candidates will meet with the community for 30 minutes one after the other with brief breaks between each candidate.
Full details are available on our Superintendent Search webpage.
Thank you for your continued engagement and partnership as we work together to select the next leader of Vancouver Public Schools.