Board Picks Washougal Superintendent Mary Templeton to Follow Retiring Ken Collins

A proven leader with innovative & unselfish style, Templeton lands the westside job she'd long sought...the LSSD board lands their preferred candidate...Washougal Board lauds outgoing Templeton's work

“I’d love to live in this community…maybe one day…and I hope my kids aren’t listening…this is where grandma lives…anyway…that’s my dream.” - Dr. Mary Templeton

LAKE STEVENS — Here’s a few things likely to endear the Lake Stevens School District’s (LSSD) new superintendent to her constituency:

- Dr. Mary Templeton spoke Thursday of “her dream” to live in Lake Stevens… and her hope that the 425 would become “where grandma lives”.

- Unprompted, during her public interview, she whistled in admiration of the “back-to- back state champs” (Lake Stevens High School Football).

- As Superintendent of Washougal School District, she’s demonstrated an unselfish ability to lead from the front, through actions like the voluntary, self-imposed $20k pay cut she took when Washougal residents told their financially-challenged district to cut administrative costs before student programs.

- Just as impressive: the fact that she didn’t even mention the self imposed pay cut in her public interview: J425 surfaced it during research. This kind of self-effacing servant leadership will be welcome and appreciated in the 425.

Templeton’s aforementioned dreams and hopes of living in Lake Stevens came to fruition Friday morning, when the board completed a four-month hiring process by picking Templeton as their unanimous selection to follow the retiring Ken Collins as LSSD Superintendent.

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Get to Know Dr. Mary Templeton

Templeton is a career educator with a love of singing and dancing who describes herself as “an exceptional communicator with a strong academic background and a thorough understanding of instructional design that will support your growing and changing community.”

She began her educational career in the classroom—teaching high school German, English and drama for 15 years. She then served as a dean of students and an assistant principal before leading the Human Resources Department in Spokane Public Schools.

For the past six years, Dr. Templeton has been the superintendent of Washougal School District a budget-challenged district about a third the size of Lake Stevens in southwest Washington. See below for a J425 summary of Templeton’s candidacy and a copy of her resume.

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Templeton in Washougal: Visible, Innovative Unselfish Leadership

“I am a leader with a successful background in school improvement, family & community engagement, and supporting schools to create a culture of belonging, inclusion, and hope for each student.”

At Washougal, Templeton’s highly-visible