The North Beach School Board has chosen Andrew Kelly to be the new school superintendent after concluding interviews with the other candidate, Richard Zimmerman, on Tuesday.

Kelly most recently has been the superintendent with the Lyle School District and principal of the middle/high school in the south-central Washington town.

“We’re looking for a house, so that is the most pressing piece,” Kelly said in a telephone interview after the hiring was announced. “When I visited Ocean Shores and went up to Pacific Beach Elementary as well, I was just impresseed with the dedication of the staff. It sounds like they have been through a pretty challenging cultural time.”

A School Board statement on Wednesday said the hiring of Kelly “comes after a tumultuous year has left the district educational staff wanting a new kind of leadership with district parents expecting improved academic results for their children.”

“The Board is extremely impressed by Andrew Kelly’s foresight and passion for making kids first. We were looking for someone with the ability to hit the ground running with vision to lead the school team; having specific skills to upgrade the rigor in our academics, and proven strategies,” said Board Chair in the statement following two days of interviews.

Kelly will fill the void left after the Board terminated the contract of former Supt. Deborah Holcomb in just the second year of her tenure, following a series of complaints from teachers, volunteers, staff and parents that culminated in her firing in March.

A Chehalis native, Kelly earned a bachelor’s degree in Music Education at Central Washington University and a master’s in Educational Administration from Heritage University in Toppenish, WA. He completed superintendent’s accreditation at Washington State University.

In his interview at North Beach, Kelly cited his successes in turning around low-rated schools in Edgewood, WA, Portland, OR, and Reno, NV.

He worked three years in the office of the Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction, leading school turnaround efforts statewide, involving 285 schools with almost 250,000 students. Since the 2015-16 school year, he has been at Lyle, a district of about 300 students located on the Washington side of the Columbia River, between Hood River and The Dalles, OR.

In her statement, Cato said the School Board would like to thank interim co-superintendents Dave Wayman and Stan Pinnick for “coming out of retirement” and being “instrumental in helping to identify quality candidates, and giving the staff confidence that day-to-day concerns were in good hands.”

“The Board also wants to thank the community for its willingness to attend two days of interviewing and rating the candidates. Our decision was fueled by the input and support of the staff and community. We would also like to acknowledge both superintendent candidates who had impressive credentials, making it difficult to disappoint one.”

The Board lauded Kelly’s “infectious passion and can-do attitude with a track record of accomplishments encouraged the Board’s decision. We intend to be part of a united North Beach community in support of ‘our’ kids, and are thrilled for Andrew Kelly’s arrival July 1.”

“School and district improvement have been one of Kelly’s passions his entire career. He has served as a high school principal in three different communities, in three different states.,” the School Board statement added about their choice. “In each position, Kelly was charged with turning around low performing high schools and pushing for equity in systems where students were frequently marginalized. His 14-year high school principal career in the Clover Park School District, Portland Public Schools and Washoe County School District (Reno, NV) provided him the opportunity to radically transform both the expectations and results for kids. “

Since July 2015, Kelly has served the Lyle School District as superintendent “in an effort to transform student outcomes for each of the students they serve.

During his interview on Monday, Kelly described how each of Lyle’s three schools were labeled “priority,” meaning they were performing in the lowest 5 percent in the state in reading and math proficiency. By January 2018, all of Lyle’s schools had exited “priority” status and their elementary school was recognized as a Washington School of Distinction for being in the top 5 percent in growth statewide.

The North Beach Board credited Kelly for his pledged adopted in Lyle: “All means all.”

“I believe that the North Beach School District can be the highest achieving school district in the state of Washington,” Kelly said in the community forum. “It is clear that you have a committed and dedicated educational staff, brilliant scholars, and a community that wants “what’s best” for their sons/daughters. We can improve our district to meet the needs of each and every learner and support our teachers, classified staff and administrative team to do their very best work.

Kelly has a family of six: Marissa, 24, is a University of Portland grad, currently serving in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica. Jeremy, 20, will be attending Grays Harbor College in the fall. Twin grads, Shakira and Rashida (18) will be attending The Evergreen State College and Central Washington University. Ezekiel (15) and Josiah (15) are looking forward to “beach life” and attending North Beach High School in the fall, according to the school district statement.