Theodore (Ted) joined the Seattle Public Schools leadership team after a two-year central office position in the Tukwila School District. In 2020-22, he served as the chief academic officer. His work experience has been widespread in many roles as an educator. He initially began his employment as an instructional assistant and home school coordinator. He continued his educational career as a teacher, head teacher, high school assistant principal, principal, and president of the Principal Association in the Seattle Schools (PASS).
Born and raised in Seattle, Ted Howard has been a dedicated educator for over 25 years. He received his executive leadership - superintendent certification from City University in 2022. His passion is ensuring all students have the necessary skills to succeed in any goal they set for themselves. This is why he ensured he could teach all kids before entering leadership roles.
Mr. Howard served 16-plus years as principal of Garfield High School. During his tenure, Garfield was recognized for two consecutive years as a School of Distinction. The school received this distinguished honor from the State of Washington for School Improvement. Additionally, Garfield was named one of the top high schools in the United States for over ten years. During his leadership, Garfield won district and state championships in many of their sports and activity programs for both girls and boys. More specifically, Garfield has won the Golden Apple Award as a school demonstrating academic excellence at all levels. Mr. Howard was recognized with the Thomas B Foster Award for Principal Excellence and named the King- Co -4A League Distinguished Principal of the Year. As a result, the governor appointed him to the Washington Professional Educator Standards Board.
Ted has been married to his wife Lee for over 28 years, and they have two children. Their focus has been on education and opening doors for our kids, and they are devoted to a vigorous faith walk.
Mr. Howard Oversees
- Assuring the implementation of procedures associated with policies approved by the School Board and Superintendent Jones
- Performance measures
- Monitoring of district, departmental, and school-based administrative and instructional programs.
- Community and School Partnerships
- Monitoring data tied explicitly to student achievement and school improvement planning
- Ensures district practices comply with board, state, and federal policies
Personal Statement
“I am thrilled daily to be in the education field. This is my passion in life. Because of my dedication to the students and families of the Seattle Public School District, I am returning to be a part of the Leadership team and to learn and lead in an inclusive environment.
"Overall, my most significant accomplishment outside of my family is a career in education serving kids and families. I cherish having the opportunity to come to work every day and work in an environment where we strive to develop and empower students to reach their goals amidst all the adversity and challenges we face as educators. It is truly an honor to collaborate and serve the Seattle community again.
After serving for one year as part of the Superintendent’s Cabinet in Seattle Public Schools, I am more committed to creating a vision of equitable and differentiated education for students, families, and staff. In new role as the chief accountability officer, I am honored to serve the Seattle Public Schools students, families, and staff.
My key focus is:
- To empower everyone to develop their greatness and serve at their highest capacity while focusing on the vision of goals and guardrails of the Seattle Public Schools.
- To support and provide direction and protection. Training and implementing the principal dashboard to share the site implementation and school improvement results.
- To walk alongside leaders and model respectful dialogue about the learning process with students and adults.
- To embrace the community and different cultures with enthusiasm using focus groups and a myriad of input tools that help guide and measure our progress with our stakeholders
We will develop partnerships and relationships with internal stakeholders to support student achievement based on the Seattle Public School goals and guardrails. Our organization will succeed based on the quality of our relationship with the community.