The new Highline School District Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield toured White Center Heights, Mount View, and Shorewood Elementary schools Thursday morning, Aug. 30, the first day of school. The Highline School Board voted Feb. 29 to hire Dr. Enfield as the district’s superintendent, contingent on a completed contract and background check, which she of course passed.

It was a Leap Year moment on two fronts, as Enfield plans to leap ahead with the good news of improved test scores in the district. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) just released those scores.

"OSPI released state test scores yesterday and we are really proud of the gains we saw in math and science in our district," Enfield told the Highline Times during her Shorewood School visit. "In math in particular, we were up at every single grade level which is a huge accomplishment for our staff and students. Math achievement is a topic of concern and conversation across the country, especially as we talk about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. We know that a lot of the careers we are preparing our kids for require them to be good mathematicians. It's a big deal for us and gives us some good momentum to start the year."

On a personal note, Enfield said she is thrilled to now be at Highline.

"I feel really lucky," she enthused. "I feel that I've found my professional home. This is a great spot. I love the folks. People have been so welcoming and my husband and I couldn't be happier living here. We moved from Belltown to Normandy Park."

"The feedback I've been getting is people have been so excited about Dr. Enfield," said Catherine Carbone Rogers, Director, Communication and Community Relations for Highline Public Schools. "Dr. Enfield has brought a real refreshing, renewed excitement about learning. We feel we are lucky to have her. The excitement is palpable around here."

"We feel both inspired and challenged," said Shorewood Principal Colin Ryan, referring to the district's principals' reactions to Enfield's Highline position. He was on hand to show Enfield around the school Thursday. "We like that. It's a good balance. When I got the email on my phone that Dr. Enfield was coming into the district I was sitting around a table with two other people and it was a total high-five moment."

Dr. Susan Enfield was the interim Superintendent for Seattle Public Schools. She came to Seattle as Chief Academic Officer from Evergreen Public Schools in Vancouver, WA where she served as the Deputy Superintendent from 2006 to 2009. Dr. Enfield is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and earned master’s degrees in education from Stanford University and Harvard University. She also earned a doctorate in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University with a concentration in the Urban Superintendents Program.