PULLMAN, Wash. — According to the Office of the Superintendent for Public Instruction in a report released Tuesday (July 30), more than one-third of Washington’s school superintendents are expected to retire in the next five years. Washington State University is preparing the state’s future superintendents now to fill those positions, said Dennis Ray, associate professor of educational leadership and director of the WSU College of Education’s superintendent certification program.
Ray’s program annually graduates 25 students, which is about two-thirds of the superintendents entering the profession and earning certification every year in Washington.
In the OSPI report “Educator Supply and Demand in Washington,” 37 percent of school superintendents are eligible for retirement in the next five years. There are approximately 292 school superintendents in Washington.
