Former Coupeville superintendent among those looking to lead school district

Among the finalists for the Coupeville School District superintendent job there is one familiar name: Jim Shank, Superintendent Steve King’s predecessor.

The Coupeville School District, with the help of a search firm, has selected four finalists to replace King once he leaves the district on June 30 after six years in the position. They include Shank, Tim LaGrange, Shannon Leatherwood and Scott Peacock.

The candidates are waiting for the final round of interviews that will take place April 8 and 9. On those days, they will also participate in “focus group discussions,” tour the schools and participate in a community forum, according to Board President Morgan White.

Shank is now trying to take back the position he held until 2018, when he landed a superintendent job at the Cassia County School District in Idaho. There, he led eight elementary schools and seven high schools before moving on to the Idaho Falls School District.

During his five years as superintendent in Coupeville, the district passed levies for maintenance, operations, technology and capital facilities. In 2017, the schools saw a 100% graduation rate.

Since July 2023, Shank has been working as the superintendent at a much smaller district, the North Beach School District in Ocean Shores. The district, located in Grays Harbor County, comprises four schools and 689 enrolled students.

After less than a year in North Beach, Shank sent a superintendent job application to Coupeville and the Longview School District in Cowlitz County, where he was one of three finalists but did not land the job.

While he worked as the superintendent in Coupeville, Shank wore many other hats. He was director of special education, director of curriculum, the principal of the high school for a year and the principal of the Island County Juvenile Detention Center, according to his resume.

Tim LaGrange’s resume also boasts significant skills and accomplishments, including budget management, academic performance analysis and being recognized as the 2024 Indiana Superintendent of the Year in District VII.

Since September 2023, he has been serving as the superintendent of the Kittitas School District, which has secured multiple grants under his leadership. He also helped the district get support to make multiple campus improvements, build a new corporate office, make HVAC improvements and enhance the athletic facilities, which in total cost $5.5 million.

LaGrange served as the assistant principal at the Jeffersonville high and middle schools in Indiana, where he earned an award for “outstanding work” as the assistant principal. Additionally, he worked as a basketball coach, a part-time dean and a social studies teacher for different districts.

Since 2022, Shannon Leatherwood, who has a background in teaching, has been working as the superintendent intern at the Bethel School District, in Pierce County, where she helped with the implementation of grant funding and strived for the creation of an inclusive environment in the district.

She has also been serving as the secondary principal at Spanaway Middle School in the same district since 2017, where she has written grant requests and implemented grant funding, established a dual language program for middle schoolers, mentored interns and new principals and helped the school achieve math and reading goals.

Between 2010 and 2017, she served as the elementary school principal at the Tumwater School District, where she managed and wrote multiple grants and facilitated different professional development opportunities.

She has won several awards, including the 2023 Washington State Secondary Principal of the Year, according to her resume.

Since 2023, Scott Peacock has been working at Peacock Leadership Consulting, where he provides “leadership support services to public and private schools in areas such as community engagement, leadership development, team building, school improvement, support in the areas of equity and gender diversity and accreditation coaching with the Northwest ESD 189,” he wrote in his resume.

Between 2019 and 2023, he served as the superintendent at Lakewood School District in Marysville, where he developed various community partnerships, expanded learning programs, facilitated the budget development process and oversaw the construction of different district buildings.

Prior to that, Peacock worked as the deputy superintendent and assistant superintendent at the Snohomish School District, where among many things, he guided principals in responding to discrimination in schools. He also worked as the executive director of teaching and learning services in the same district, where he facilitated the design and implementation of professional development opportunities and district assessment systems.