Regional Executive Director of Schools: Central
Dr. James Mercer is a champion for children. He brings over 24 years of experience working with kids from underserved communities into his role as the regional executive director of schools.
He has worked as an educator in four different states with drastically different standards for students, teachers, and leaders. These differences proved to be the catalyst that encouraged him to enter the path of educational leadership.
Dr. Mercer has served as an elementary and middle school teacher, middle school assistant principal and principal, and a central office administrator. Additionally, he is a skilled facilitator who has worked with hundreds of administrators across the nation to improve their instructional leadership practices.
Dr. Mercer earned his bachelor’s degree in elementary and early childhood education from the University of Toledo. He earned his master’s degree in educational leadership from Georgia State University and his doctorate in education leadership from Harvard University.
The schools in Central Seattle
Key Enterprise Level Functions: Our purpose as regional executive directors of schools is to better support our schools and school leaders in the service of students. We do this through regionalize support by way of:
As regional executive directors we act as lead implementation strategists, partner with and empower school leaders in analyzing their schools’ needs, identify trends and patterns, anticipate and respond to the needs of our schools, and work to build and sustain relationships with our families, community partners, and stakeholders.
"As a career educator, I bring experience as an elementary school teacher, middle school teacher, assistant principal, principal, and central office leader to my role as the regional executive director of schools for the Central Region.
"My why is centered on ensuring that all children receive a high-quality engaging education experience that prepares them to live a healthy, happy, and productive life. To accomplish this, I supervise, serve, and support school leaders as they balance instructional leadership responsibilities with the operational realities of leading their schools."
Regional Executive Director of Schools: Northeast
Dr. McCarthy has served in public education for over 20 years combining teaching, coaching, mentoring and leading experiences in each level of multiple PK-12 school districts in the Puget Sound Region.
He was both a math and English teacher at the middle and high school levels and became a Nationally Board Certified Teacher in 2008. Dr. McCarthy entered school administration in 2011 and has served as elementary and middle school principal in diverse urban districts.
In 2019, Dr. McCarthy became the director of K-12 mathematics for a large Puget Sound school district prior to leading in Seattle Public Schools as a director of school, PK-8 starting in 2021.
Dr. McCarthy graduated with a Master’s Degree in 2011 from the University of Washington’s Danforth Educational Leadership Program and is a 2021 graduate of the University of Washington’s Leadership for Learning Doctoral Program. He is also a Tillman Scholar, recognized in 2020 as one of 50 leaders from across the country for distinguished leadership inside and outside of the military.
He is currently a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and is stationed at Ft. Shafter Hawaii where he teaches policy, ethics, operations and leadership for the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College, an accredited institution of higher learning for active and reserve army officers.
The schools in Northeast Seattle
Key Enterprise Level Functions: Our purpose as regional executive directors of schools is to better support our schools and school leaders in the service of students. We do this through regionalize support by way of:
As regional executive directors we act as lead implementation strategists, partner with and empower school leaders in analyzing their schools’ needs, identify trends and patterns, anticipate and respond to the needs of our schools, and work to build and sustain relationships with our families, community partners, and stakeholders.
Dr. McCarthy’s why grew out of a love for working with students, for seeing them grow, learn and thrive in the classroom, on the athletic field, in social settings, and in the community.
While teaching he would volunteer to take on classes others would not, with students that some said could not or would not learn. The experiences teaching and then leading schools elevated an urgency to tackle the great discrepancy in opportunities, resources, beliefs about student abilities and the outcomes these beliefs lead to for students. As a result, Mike continues to aspire to leverage high quality learning by building and sustaining the capacity of school leaders closest to the classroom and to the communities they serve.
He believes every school community deserves a school leader who is committed to excellence in outcomes for all kids and whom is willing to lead for educational justice, ensuring success for all, especially for those that have been historically underserved. He will continue to lead for the disruption of systems that value only the individual or that isolate and marginalize, while drawing on a broad base of research, knowledge and community capital that suggests collaborative and collective ways of teaching, leading and learning are critical to realizing the community we know can exist in the future.
Dr. McCarthy combines irrational hope with fierce determination knowing we can make an incredible difference in our world if we work collectively, with and for, the most valuable resource we have—our children.
Regional Executive Director of Schools: Southwest
Mr. Carter has been an educator for over 25 years, beginning as an elementary teacher in Long Beach, California before returning home to Seattle. He began with Seattle Public Schools in 1997 serving as a teacher, house administrator, and principal. In 2018, Mr. Carter was awarded the Thomas B. Foster Principal of the Year, which honors leadership in accomplishing equity driven outcomes for students.
His leadership extends outside of Seattle Public School as well. Serving as an assistant principal in Highline Public School, as a K-12 regional school director in Federal Way Public Schools, and his leadership work with the Global Cities Education Network. This work focused on learning from high performing educational systems around the world toward identifying and applying what great systems do in support of professional learning and its impact on student achievement.
The past three years, as director of schools, he has provided leadership and support to schools in our southeast, southwest, and central regions. Mr. Carter is a graduate of the University of Washington, holds a master’s degree in education, and principal certification from Western Washington University.
As an educational leader, he believes that our principals are the most important leaders in our system and believes strongly in the spirit and power of collaboration. Executive Director Carter is honored to be able to lead, serve, and support in this role.
The schools in Southwest Seattle
Key Enterprise Level Functions: Our purpose as regional executive directors of schools is to better support our schools and school leaders in the service of students. We do this through regionalize support by way of:
As regional executive directors we act as lead implementation strategists, partner with and empower school leaders in analyzing their schools’ needs, identify trends and patterns, anticipate and respond to the needs of our schools, and work to build and sustain relationships with our families, community partners, and stakeholders.
"As a lifelong educator, why the work of education is so personal to who I am and what I believe, is grounded in passion and vision for our children to reach their potential and to have the access and opportunity that they deserve.
"Though I have had multiple roles in education going back to volunteer tutoring when in college and coaching sports, serving as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and now in a central office role, my why has always been and continues to be focused on our students and the communities we serve."
Assistant Superintendent of Academics
Dr. Mike Starosky believes in the power of public education and has committed his professional life in helping to create the conditions for students to succeed by supporting high quality, equity-driven teaching and leading.
He further believes in that leadership matters-specifically school leadership matters to the success and support of high-quality teaching and learning. Dr. Starosky is the assistant superintendent of academics.
Dr. Starosky earned a doctorate in school leadership and policy studies from the University of Washington and is a career middle school teacher and administrator. He is a proud graduate of Seattle Public Schools having attended Whittier Elementary, Whitman Jr. High, and Ballard High School.
In 1994, he began his career in SPS as a middle school teacher at Mercer Middle School. During his 29 years of professional service to SPS, he has held the role of teacher, assistant principal, principal of Whitman Middle School, principal leadership coach, chief of schools, and executive director of schools.
Academic District Vision and Policy, Academic Strategy and Implementation connected to district goals, Professional Learning Structures and Systems for Educators and Leaders, Curriculum Adoption, Implementation, and Assessment
Dr. Starosky leads through the power of collaboration to foster high quality, equity-driven teaching and leading to impact all students. The department of academics is committed to transforming the lives of all children through high-quality, equity-driven teaching and leading in which results in innovative, welcoming schools. Dr. Starosky has committed his professional life to closing opportunity gaps by creating the conditions for adults to provide high quality teaching to every student. Dr. Starosky leads with the belief that Seattle’s children, families, and communities are worthy of exceptional teaching and focuses his leadership and those whom he leads, to improving the conditions of adult learning to focus instructional leadership of school leaders and professional educators.
Dr. Starosky founded Seattle Public Schools’ leadership development and support program, Lead Up, which recruits, selects, and retains school leaders. Under Dr. Starosky’s leadership the last six years, the Lead Up department has hired nearly 50% leaders of color. Dr. Starosky was honored in 2015 with the University of Washington’s College of Education Professional Mentor Award for his outstanding leadership in mentoring and coaching of students at the University of Washington. He was recognized in 2021 by the Washington Association of School Administrators for his significant impact on Public Education in Washington State by receiving the DA Davidson Barbara Mertens Award. Additionally, he has been a presenter at number national professional leadership conferences.
