She ran one of the state’s largest school districts. Now she’ll take over in Kennewick
A longtime Lake Washington administrator is taking over leadership of the Kennewick School District.
The school board has chosen Traci Pierce for the position to head the 18,600-student district after Superintendent Dave Bond retires sometime next school year.
She told the Herald on Friday afternoon that she’s excited about the diversity of the district’s students who are taught by a very committed staff.
After spending 24 years at the Seattle-area school district, she was looking to move closer to family members living in the Tri-Cities.
She moved out of her superintendent’s post into another position to allow someone else to learn the ropes while she looked for a job in Eastern Washington.
It wasn’t long before she was a finalist for the Kennewick superintendent’s post.
Starts July 1 in Kennewick
“I am very excited to have the opportunity to serve Kennewick students and the community,” Pierce said in a news release on Facebook. “I am honored to be selected and can’t wait to get started working with Mr. Bond and the leadership team.”
Pierce starts working as the deputy superintendent on July 1, and will fill Bond’s position when he leaves. Her salary is expected to be $160,000 to $180,000.
Pierce was a finalist with longtime Kennewick administrator Doug Christensen for the position. The two met with teachers, administrators and the community at recent forums.
Pierce spent six years leading the third-largest school district in the state, Lake Washington, which includes Kirkland, Redmond and Sammamish.
She switched to the director of college and career readiness at the district at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year.
With her parents living in Kennewick and a sister in Richland, she was interested in moving closer to them, she told the Herald.
When the former director of college and career readiness retired at Lake Washington, she saw an opportunity to step into that post while helping a new superintendent get settled.
“It wasn’t about not wanting to be superintendent,” she said. “It was about wanting to leave the district in a good place.”
Career in Western Washington
The nearly 30,000 student district added 4,000 students during her leadership. She also oversaw a successful move for sixth grade students to middle school and three successful levy and bond campaigns.
Her interest in teaching started when she was in second-grade in Couer d’Alene, and later began her career in the Western Washington school district.
In her 24 years there, she served in various positions, including assistant principal, principal, instructional technology coordinator, teaching and learning director, chief schools officer and deputy superintendent.
Her experience as the leader of a large, growing school district made her an exciting candidate to work with, said Dawn Adams, Kennewick’s school board president, in the news release.
Pierce has a record of focusing on instruction and building positive relationships, Adams said.
Pierce has a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies and a superintendent certificate from the University of Washington. Her master’s is in educational leadership from City University in Bellevue.
This story was originally published May 31, 2019 at 12:39 PM.