Principal Danny Rock decides to leave Vashon High School

Published 1:30 am Thursday, December 15, 2022

Danny Rock, the principal of Vashon High School since 2013, announced last week that he had asked to be released from his contract with the school district in mid-year.

The request, Rock explained in a letter sent to VHS staff, families and community, was not related to the district’s current investigations of two VHS teachers for serious misconduct. Rather, he said it was the result of a job offer he had recently received following a quiet but long-prepared-for transition to work in the private sector.

“Some may wonder if recent challenges at VHS play into my decision to transition away mid-year, and I would like to be clear that this is not the case,” Rock said. “My intent was to make my transition in an orderly and timely way, but outside events have dictated otherwise.”

Rock detailed that trajectory, revealing that during the 2018-19 school year, he had begun to explore what might come next for him, after working for 20 years in education.

Prior to becoming principal of VHS, at the age of 37, Rock had been the principal of Edmonds Heights K12, an alternative school with about 500 students, after teaching for six years at Roosevelt High School in Seattle.

But with two decades left in his career, he said, he had begun to take online classes in recent years and joined a volunteer effort to create an app for disabled students. He also enrolled at the University of Washington to receive certification in a tech field — software product management.

In June, he said, he had received a job offer in this field, which was withdrawn after a downturn in the economy. A few weeks ago, however, the position had once again been offered to him and he had accepted it, he said.

“I feel blessed to have the opportunity to start a second career and for the support of my family in the time and effort it took to prepare and secure a job,” he said.

Vashon Island School District (VISD) Superintendent, Slade McSheehy, said the district had taken immediate steps to fill Rock’s position.

John Erickson, an island resident and VHS assistant principal since 2021, has accepted the role of interim principal at the high school, McSheehy said, and a search for a new assistant principal has already been launched.

VISD posted the assistant principal position on Friday, Dec. 9, and hopes to quickly fill that position.

Once a strong candidate had been offered and accepted the position of assistant principal, VISD would move forward and release Rock from his contract, McSheehy said.

Following the appointment of an interim principal, the district will post for the 2023-2024 VHS Principal position early in 2023.

McSheehy offered high praise for Rock’s work over the past decade and particularly during the high-pressure years of the pandemic.

“In looking at the data, the high school outperformed every single comparable high school during the pandemic,” McSheehy said. “There was a lot of pressure [and] he took some big risks during the hardest years of this school.”

In an end-of-year message to the district, made the day previous to the announcement of Rock’s departure, McSheehy noted a strong graduation rate at VHS.

“Our graduating Class of 2022 had a four-year on-time graduation rate of 93.6%, which is among the highest in the state,” he said. “Our four-year on-time graduation rate for Hispanic/Latino students is at an all-time high of 91.7%, a 25% increase from 2018.”

In a phone call, McSheehy also pointed out Rock’s advocacy for a decision to switch the learning calendar for secondary students at VISD during the pandemic — moving from a semesters to a quarters schedule during online learning. The decision initially received strong pushback from some parents, but ultimately proved successful in helping students in the unprecedented switch to online learning, McSheehy said.

In his letter announcing his decision, Rock, for his part, said he would leave VHS with a sense of accomplishment and fond memories.

“My work as principal of this community has included amazing memories and experiences for myself, my children, and my broader community,” he said. “It has also included intense challenges, stress, and leadership opportunities aplenty.”

He also hinted at some of the factors that may have contributed to his decision to pursue a mid-career transition to the private sector.

“Leadership on Vashon is hard … and sometimes it comes at the expense of our families,” he said.

While praising his colleagues, he urged islanders to be kind to educators on Vashon.

“They work hard to serve our community and hold disproportionate visibility in our small town,” he said. “… We are a remarkable community and a great place for kids to grow up.”

Rock said that he intended to remain active on Vashon.

“I look forward to seeing you in town, to being a parent, a coach, and a community member on Vashon,” he said. “It has been my honor and joy to serve the students and families of VHS.”

Board member Kali Aguilera also departs

In another leadership development, VISD is now seeking applicants for an open school board position.

VISD board member Kali Aguilera resigned from her position as of Dec. 2, citing family developments that have necessitated her to move away from Vashon for the foreseeable future.

“It has been an honor to serve on the board, where I did my best to bring forward community concerns and push for positive changes,” Aguilera wrote in her resignation letter.

The district has now opened a call for islanders to apply to fill Aguilera’s seat, which Aguilera assumed after Bob Hennessey resigned from his elected post in the fall of 2021. Her term would have ended in November of 2023. The application process, now open at tinyurl.com/3dcfzzwk, closes on Jan. 4.

Applicants will be interviewed by the board at its Jan. 12 meeting, after which the board will take action to appoint one of the candidates. The new board member will be sworn in at the board’s Jan. 26 meeting.

For more information about the process, write to vashonschoolboard@vashonsd.org.

Leadership changes at VISD add up

The departures of Rock and Aguilera add to the growing number of leadership shifts at VISD.

In August, the district’s financial chief, Matt Sullivan, announced that he had accepted a similar position at Mercer Island School District.

At the time, McSheehy announced that he would not fill Sullivan’s position, but rather, promoted longtime business office staffer Kay Adams to a new position as director of business and finance for the district.

However, in November, Adams also announced that she, too, had accepted a position at Mercer Island School District, and would depart VISD at the end of December.

A hiring process is now underway to replace Adams.

Brandy Fox, who has helmed VISD’s capital projects for the past six years, also announced this fall that she would cease working for VISD in order to concentrate on other clients of her long-established business, CPM Seattle Inc.