Chrisopher Kinsey, just named as the new Interim Principal for Chief Sealth International High School sat down with the West Seattle Herald to talk about the job, his thoughts on education and his plans for becoming part of the fabric of West Seattle.

John Boyd, Principal for the past seven years is moving on to a job with the Highline School District and oversaw the transition from the old Sealth into the new joint Sealth/Denny Middle School campus.

Kinsey acknowledges that, "I have some big shoes to fill and it's a little daunting. John's created a great community over the past years." He believes he's ready for the challenge. "A lot of things I've done have prepared me for this position," he said, " I view myself as an instructional leader and an advocate for children and those are things that I'm going to bring to this community. We're going to have fun this year and turn out a top notch student."

Kinsey's plans and perspective are born of his experience. "I think the first thing is to continue the work that's going on here (...) but at the same time I think I can bring a unique perspective. I started out as a seventh grade language arts and social studies teacher, then I had an opportunity to go to Eckstein Middle School as the House Administrator and from there I went to Nathan Hale (in their Pathways program), and I've been working with high school kids for four years now. (He's been the Assistant Principal at Cleveland High School for the past three years). I think that's just a unique perspective. To see where kids are coming from in terms of middle school and see the transition into high school (...) I think having that experience is going to allow me to help the community and build a stronger student."

Kinsey sees the transition into high school as an important and sometimes difficult time for some students. With Sealth's joint campus he sees opportunities to make that transition easier. "Research and trends indicate that students that don't earn enough credit their freshman year face challenges in the future. With the 6-12 Pathways that we're going to create, to have a middle school on the same campus and do some collaborative work in terms of curriculum is good. And the fact that Jeff Clark (Denny Principal) or his administrative team can walk these kids over as 9th graders and say look at the relationship that we built (...) we don't have that anywhere else in the city."

The concept of a joint campus is still for some in the community a question mark but Kinsey is confident it will be net plus. "In terms of fear, any new program is going to have some fears. It's going to have some challenges, but I think as long as you're transparent you can address those. It is a daunting thing to have a sixth grader and a twelfth grader on the same campus but the work that we need to do is about culture. Denny Middle School has its own culture. Chief Sealth has its own culture we need to make sure we honor them but at the same time what a great opportunity for our upper classmen to mentor 8th graders or to help with the transition. I think there are a number of programs that will help alleviate those fears."

He's very impressed by Sealth and its place in the Seattle Public School system, pointing the the "huge waiting list" of students wanting to attend. "That speaks volumes about the school culture and the academic program."

While the position is interim (his work and role will be evaluated over the winter to determine whether or not a search should be conducted for a permanent Principal), he plans to join community organizations. "I've heard that message loud and clear from teachers and a few students I've had an opportunity to speak with. When the announcement went out there were any number of organizations that sent me emails of congratulations but at the same time wanting to set up time to meet. That tells you Chief Sealth has a lot community supporters."

He describes his style as more inquisitive than anything else. He wants to know what's going on in the classroom. "I think that's a huge piece of being an instructional leader," he said. He has some role models from his own experience. He went to school in Spanaway in the Bethel School District where he lived across the street from all his schools, elementary through high school. "We all had those people that we admire," mentioning, "Mrs. Henderson. She was a junior high reading teacher. She pushed you and she found the books you'd read. It was interesting when I was a seventh grade teacher a group of teachers from another district and I literally went speechless because Mrs. Henderson was sitting in the back of my classroom." Mr. Foley was another inspiration. "He had it going on. He pushed you and at the same time he realized you were in sixth grade. Not only do you have to push, but you have to inspire."

The controversy about math curriculum that is on the minds of many in the upcoming election has some school board candidates at odds with each other. For Kinsey, it's an opportunity. "We have the required text books of course but we have to bring in as many resources as we can for students to help supplement that work. We just need to find creative ways to help students learn math."

Kinsey is a bachelor, lives in Ballard, and believes in a good balance between work and life. In his spare time he enjoys fly fishing with a favorite spot up near Mount Si, "Where I have plenty of room behind me to do my cast." He's an avid young adult fiction reader too.

He's anxious to get to know the people of West Seattle and wants people to contact him with questions or concerns. "I'm really excited and honored to be a Seahawk. We're in district leadership meetings so I'm living in both worlds at the moment, Cleveland and Sealth but I'll be working with Aurora Lora and Activities Coordinator Sam Reed to have some open office hours to meet with community members and students."

You can reach Kinsey via email at chkinsey@seattleschools.org