Greg Schellenberg has been chosen by the Edmonds School District (ESD) to be the interim principal of MTHS for the 2017-2018 school year. This decision was announced by the School Board on July 24 following its decision on June 16 to not offer the position of principal to one of the three finalists from the previous hiring process.
Schellenberg will be taking over the position of principal from longtime MTHS Principal Greg Schwab, who, on April 28, was hired as the Assistant Superintendent of the ESD. Schwab began his time as principal of MTHS in 2004 and had served as the principal for 13 years.
Following the announcement that Schwab would become the next Assistant Superintendent of the ESD, the School Board began searching for a replacement and, after many interviews, three finalists were announced.
However, Superintendent Kristine McDuffy announced in a staff meeting on June 16 that an interim principal would lead MTHS while the School Board continued to search for a candidate that matched their expectations and the expectations of the school community.
“We had three strong candidates who each had qualities and experiences that resulted in them being finalists. However, we have decided to continue the search to bring Mountlake Terrace High the leader needed to move this school community forward,” McDuffy said in an email to MTHS families and staff.
A committee will be set up to resume the hiring process for a permanent MTHS principal around January and February in the 2017-2018 school year. However, Schellenberg will serve as the interim principal for the school year so that this committee has time to choose an appropriate permanent principal for the MTHS community.
“This is an interim position and it is our intent to begin the search process for the permanent MTHS Principal beginning early in 2018. This will of course, be an inclusive process with parent, student, staff and community involvement,” Schwab said in an email sent out to MTHS families on July 24.
Schellenberg has expressed his excitement about serving the MTHS community as principal to the School Board.
“Mr. Schellenberg is eager to get started in the role of Interim Principal and is already working this week with Assistant Principals Dan Falk and Peter Schurke to get up to speed with all that he needs to know about MTHS going into this school year. And he is very eager to meet with parents and community, as well,” Schwab said.
The school calendar on the MTHS website contains a list of upcoming school and community events, which will be attended by Schellenberg. At these events, he hopes to meet with students, parents and community members and get to know them in preparation for the upcoming school year.
Schellenberg was selected due to his notable credentials and his “wealth of experience as a building leader.”
Schellenberg holds a Bachelor’s degree in secondary education and teaching from Pacific Lutheran University and a Master’s degree in educational administration and supervision from City University of Seattle.
Before coming to serve as the interim principal at MTHS, Schellenberg held a variety of teaching and school administration jobs, including serving in education roles overseas in countries such as China, Thailand and Saudi Arabia. Most of his teaching experience comes from serving as a middle school math teacher, first at Kilo Junior High School in the Federal Way School District from 1991 to 1997 and then from 2001 to 2003 at the Shanghai American School in Shanghai, China.
Schellenberg also has several years of school administration experience. He has served as an assistant principal at Stahl Junior High School in the Puyallup School District from 1998 to 2001, the principal of an international school in Saudi Arabia run by the oil company Saudi Aramco to serve the children of its foreign employees from 2003 to 2004, the principal of Gig Harbor High School in the Peninsula School District from 2004 to 2009, the principal of Eastlake High School in the Lake Washington School District from 2009 to 2010, the principal of a Shanghai Community International School in Shanghai, China from 2010 to 2013, the headmaster of the American Pacific International School in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 2013 to 2016 and from 2016 to 2017 as an associate program director at City University of Seattle.
“From his experiences, Mr. Schellenberg shows that he values parent and community involvement,” Schwab said.
Before being chosen as the interim principal of MTHS for the 2017-2018 school year, Schellenberg was also a finalist for the position of principal at Meadowdale High School.
