By Kelli Samson
Tumwater, I hope you know how lucky you are.
It’s rare in life to be truly in a moment and to deeply understand that you are witnessing an era. For the last five years, we teachers and students at Capital High School (CHS) have known beyond the shadow of a doubt that we have been fortunate.
Principal Chris Woods, we are going to miss you. And, yes, I write this with all the bias one can imagine. He was our fearless leader, the likes of which one doesn’t see often in the span of a career.
When Woods, the son of a recently-retired teacher and the brother of Griffin School District’s superintendent, was first hired as CHS’s principal, many moms in my book club were upset. He was their beloved principal at Pioneer Elementary School at the time, the school where they’d sent their first-borns to learn under Woods’ reassuring smile.
And now I know how they must have felt. I had no comprehension, then, of the jackpot CHS had hit by hiring Woods, an Olympia native who graduated from CHS in 1991.
For the past five years, those two days of back-to-school staff meetings were actually fun. Woods would play music during breaks and make us laugh, all while simultaneously inspiring us with reminders and YouTube videos of how we positively impact kids.
“We’re more effective at what we do when we’re having fun,” shares Woods, “and the students notice it when we enjoy what we do. It’s contagious.”
Growing up in Olympia, “fun” was sort of Woods’ middle name. With a knack for goofing off and a well-honed stubborn streak, he was, to use his words, “a pretty active kid.”
“In third grade, teachers were always trying to find a way to keep me engaged and behaving. One of my rewards was to go to the self-contained special ed classroom to work with kids,” he recalls.
This was a turning point for Woods. “Betty Kinerk was the teacher in that classroom, and I realized how much I loved it.”
Woods went on to work with Mark Grindstaff at Perpetual Motion in middle school, helping with camps. “I knew I wanted to work with kids one day. I just didn’t know what that was going to look like yet.”
After graduating from Central Washington University, Woods took his first teaching position in third grade at Olympia’s Hansen Elementary, working alongside Kinerk. When he would run into his former teachers, they were pleasantly surprised at his career choice. “I think I had some doubters in the beginning,” says Woods, “but I knew I had a lot to offer and could show that anyone can be successful if they work hard.”
The Olympia community watched his ambition and drive get channeled into a career that has affected countless students, parents, teachers, and community members across the span of the Olympia School District.
Woods earned his Master’s degree in school administration and completed his principal’s internship at Washington Middle School. His first hire was as principal of Pioneer Elementary where his own children were attending. In 2010 Woods completed his superintendent credentials, knowing he’d use them someday.
Though it was a difficult choice to leave Pioneer and transition to CHS, Woods felt pulled by the words of friend Scott Seaman who asked him, “Have you ever thought about the impact you could have on a community as a high school principal?”
This tipped the scale for Woods, who then accepted the position eagerly, while also asking himself about the impact a community could have on him – the opportunity to go back to where you came from and leave one last footprint.
“I never imagined the impact accepting that position would have, or the relationships I would form, or just how hard it would be to leave,” confesses Woods.
During his tenure at CHS, Woods focused on unity among the staff, which trickled down into unity among students. He talked with kids at lunch and ended nearly every email to his staff with: “Please let me know if there’s anything you need that I can help you with.” Woods never feared showing his humanity and was moved to tears on occasion.
He was for the people, by the people, with the people. Think of your high school principal and you will know that this is not always the case. Woods’ brand of fun was fun that got results. Fun that got teachers to dance on the first day of school, and fun that made kids want to make him proud.
Woods gave us a sense of community.
And that is why our hearts broke when we received an unexpected email from Woods saying he would be moving on to the Tumwater School District as Executive Director of Student Learning, the equivalent of an assistant superintendent. It is a goodbye that still produces tears months later.
“When you’re putting everything into what you love, it’s never going to be easy to leave. Those five years were pretty amazing, and I’m very, very thankful,” shares Woods. “I’m so grateful to all the people who supported me in Olympia, who helped me learn along the way and gave me opportunities. So many people have invested in me.”
Why leave now, just when things were getting really good?
Woods taught us we were a team capable of affecting great positive change in our students’ lives. He knew we’d found our ‘we’ mentality – a collective voice and power as a staff. He knew we could successfully sustain that energy alone. We were ready, we just didn’t know it.
Woods’ ultimate goal is to serve as a school district superintendent. The first step, then, is to serve as an assistant superintendent. He knew finding a position in town, avoiding uprooting his family, would be challenging as the specialized positions are tough to find.
When the position of Executive Director of Student Learning opened up in neighboring Tumwater, Woods saw the unique opportunity to not only advance his career goals, but to learn from the methods, employees, and students of a different school district.
This move, he figures, will make him a better superintendent one day.
“I’m excited about the idea of supporting principals. Having been an administrator at all three levels, I know how hard that job is. I know the greatest impact we can have on student achievement is through our building principals. They’re the ones who are working directly with staff, and staff are working directly with kids. I’m excited about having an even larger impact on instruction and assessment,” he continues, ”as everything on the teaching and learning side falls under my title. I’m learning so much.”
Woods, who often arrived at CHS at 6:00 a.m., is also looking forward to more time with his family. “Even though I am working year-round now for the first time, my evenings are open, and I have more time to be with them.”
So, Tumwater, we from Olympia tip our hats to you. You’ve got a gem on your hands. May you love every minute of your time with the ever-shiny Chris Woods.
We sure did.
