Superintendent Raj Manhas has announced additional principal appointments at 11 Seattle Public Schools for the 2004-2005 school year. The principal appointment process will continue for the African American Academy and the Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center, the two remaining schools with vacancies.

Garfield High School

Ted Howard II has been appointed principal of Garfield High School. Howard, who is also a Garfield alumnus, served as assistant principal at Franklin High School for the past two years. In 1990, he began his career as an instructional assistant at Beacon Hill Elementary and went on to serve as a special education assistant and home school coordinator at South Shore Middle School. He was a classroom teacher at Martin Luther King Elementary prior to his appointment as assistant principal for Dunlap Elementary in January 2002. Howard has a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Western Washington University and a Masters of Education from Heritage College in Toppenish, Washington.

NOVA High School

Lisa Escobar will be the new principal at NOVA High School. For the past four years, she has been a high school and middle school teacher in the Issaquah and Snoqualmie Valley School Districts. Escobar is also currently enrolled in Seattle University's doctorate program in education. From 1998 to 2000 in the Issaquah School District, she served as middle school assistant principal and later as elementary school principal. Escobar's career as an educator spans 13 years and includes roles as a bilingual teacher, middle school teacher and district and school administrator in California and Washington. Escobar has a Master of Arts in special education from San Jose State University and a Bachelor of Science in health science from California State University, Chico.

Seahawks Academy

Susan Toth has been appointed assistant principal and will serve as the lead administrator for the Seahawks Academy. Since 1997, Toth has been a classroom teacher at Madison Middle School teaching social studies, language arts and reading. This year she completed the Danforth Educational Leadership Program at the University of Washington and held administrative internships at Aki Kurose Middle School and Salmon Bay K-8. Toth has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington and a Masters in Teaching from Seattle University.

Alki Elementary

Patricia McLean, a veteran educator with more than 30 years experience, will lead Alki Elementary as its new principal. McLean has served as an instructional services school coach for Seattle Public Schools, leading professional development efforts at school sites, since 2002. She has also served as a high school social studies teacher in the Lake Washington school district and an adjunct professor of French at Bellevue Community College before working for Bellevue Public Schools as a curriculum specialist and co-founder of the small schools program. McLean has held fellowships at Brown University, the University of Chicago Law School, the Université de Paris IV and Harvard University. She has a Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Education from the University of Washington.

Broadview-Thomson Elementary

Jeanne Smart has been appointed principal at Broadview-Thomson Elementary School. She has served as principal at Wedgwood Elementary from 2000 to 2001 and most recently was principal at Alki Elementary for the past three years. Smart has nearly 20 years of experience as a school administrator and was the principal of Cedar Way Elementary School in Mountlake Terrace, Washington before coming to Seattle Public Schools. From 1978 to 1985, she was a classroom teacher for grades K, 1, 4 and 6 in the Lake Stevens School District before beginning her administrative career. Smart received her Masters of Education from the University of Washington and her Bachelor of Arts from Western Washington University.

Graham Hill Elementary

Joanne Hill has been appointed principal at Graham Hill Elementary School. For the past 10 years, she has served as a school administrator for Seattle Public Schools. Most recently, Hill served as the interim principal for Summit K-12. She received her Bachelor of Science in education at the University of Illinois, Chicago and her Masters of Science in school counseling at the University of LaVerne, California. Hill has been an educator for 30 years in school districts in Washington, California, Maryland and Illinois.

Lafayette Elementary

Virginia Turner will be the new principal at Lafayette Elementary School. For the past year, she was the director at the American International School of Lome, Togo, West Africa where the student body represents 19 countries in grades pre-K to 12 th grade. Turner began her career in education as a middle school teacher in Everett, Washington in 1982. After spending more than 10 years in the classroom, she began her career as an administrator serving as the associate principal of Woodward Middle School on Bainbridge Island for five years. She later served as the principal at Maplewood K-8 in the Edmonds School District from 1999 to 2003 before leaving for her post in Africa. Turner received her Bachelor of Arts in education and her Masters of Education from Western Washington University.

Lowell Elementary

Julie Breidenbach brings 20 years of experience in education to her new role as principal of Lowell Elementary School. Currently principal at View Ridge Elementary, Breidenbach received her Bachelor of Arts in elementary education from Washington State University and her Masters of Education from the University of Washington. She spent 15 years in the classroom as an elementary middle school math teacher in Germany, the Hood Canal, Renton and Seattle Public Schools. In 2000, Breidenbach became head teacher and principal intern at Highland Park Elementary. She was appointed principal of View Ridge Elementary the next year.

John Muir Elementary

Awnie Thompson has been appointed principal of John Muir Elementary School. With a career in education that spans over 11 years, Thompsonl has served as a classroom teacher at Catharine Blaine K-8, Wing Luke Elementary and Graham Hill Elementary, an administrative intern at Kimball Elementary and a K-5 inquiry-based science curriculum consultant for Seattle Public Schools. Thompson received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington and her Masters of Education from City University in Seattle.

View Ridge Elementary

Terri Skjei will be the new principal at View Ridge Elementary School. For the past two years she has served as principal at Broadview-Thomson Elementary. Skjei was an elementary teacher and early childhood curriculum specialist for nearly 20 years before she began her career as a school administrator in 1998. She has a Master of Arts in human development from Pacific Oaks College in California and completed the Danforth Educational Leadership Program at the University of Washington in 1999. She also has a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Arts in science from the University of Washington.

Wedgwood Elementary

Veronica Gallardo has been appointed principal of Wedgwood Elementary School. For the past year, Gallardo has served as principal intern at Mercer Middle School and John Hay Elementary. Prior to that experience, she was a fourth and sixth grade classroom teacher at Woodin Elementary in Bothell from 1998 to 2004. Gallardo received her Bachelor of Arts in American Ethnic Studies from the University of Washington and is fluent in Spanish. She has a Masters in Education from the University of Washington was recently awarded a $25,000 Kreielsheimer Fellowship.

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