John C. (Jack) Schuster, Ocean Shores,
Private School Representative through January 2012
Mr. Schuster joined the State Board of Education in 2004, representing the private school sector. Mr. Schuster retired, also in 2004, after 36 years as a secondary school educator. For 22 years until retirement he was principal of John F. Kennedy Memorial High School in the Archdiocese of Seattle. He also served as principal of Tahoma Senior High School in Maple Valley, Washington, and as a teacher and vice-principal at Burlington-Edison High School in Burlington, Washington.
In 1999-2000, Mr. Schuster became the first private high school principal to serve as president of the Washington Association of Secondary School Principals. In 2003, he was elected president of the parent organization, the Association of Washington School Principals. His focus during those years was to provide principals with professional development that would help move their schools to a standards-based environment while maintaining balance in their personal lives. As president, he was also able to visit principals and their schools in Japan and Germany.
Mr. Schuster has also volunteered with the National Catholic Education Association as a Regional Associate, the Washington Federation of Independent Schools and as a District Board member with the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.
In 1989, Mr. Schuster was selected High School Principal of the Year by the Washington Library Media Association and in 2004, received the Sister Mary Taylor Award from the Archdiocese of Seattle for outstanding service to Catholic Schools. In 2007, he received the Columbia Award from the Washington Federation of Indepdendent Schools for strengthening education for all of Washington's children. He is a native of Spokane,Wa and a graduate of St Aloysius and Gonzaga Prep schools. He attended Gonzaga University; received a bachelor’s degree in history from Eastern Washington State ; a master’s in education administration from Western Washington State;and continuing principal’s certification from the University of Washington. He and his wife, Gini, also a retired educator, have three children and five grandchildren.
