dy Metzger will retire at the end of the school year, six years after she began leading her pod of 542 “orcas” and their more than 30 teachers.

The search for a replacement has begun, and Vashon Island School District Superintendent Michael Soltman is in the process of creating a search committee comprised of himself, a district board member, parents, teachers and administrators. The committee will be tasked with finding another principal who can communicate effectively, solve problems, is high-energy and creative and can become active in the community.

The position, with a yearly salary that ranges from around $95,000 to more than $110,800, was opened and posted earlier this month. The district will accept applications from those with state administrative credentials and experience in elementary schools through Feb. 29. Screening and interview processes with the search committee will be conducted in March, and the new principal should be selected by the end of March.

Metzger’s last day will be the last day of the school year at the end of June.

Soltman and Metzger have a working relationship that spans back to the early 2000s when he was superintendent in Friday Harbor and she taught at Friday Harbor Elementary. Soltman hired her as principal of that elementary school before she left to become principal of Neely-O’Brien Elementary School in Kent. He hired her again to be the Chautauqua principal in 2010. He said that she is a leader who is able to identify a common vision and build trust to work toward that vision.

“I think she’s really good at building culture and taking in faculty, and developing cooperation and coordination,” Soltman said. “I saw her as a leader who would be able to bring the staff together.”

Those skills were something that were needed and tested in the last two years, as Common Core standards, a new teacher evaluation system and new testing program all were implemented in quick succession. Both Soltman and Metzger said the changes were rough and created tension and angst throughout the district. Chautauqua was hit especially hard as some parents pushed back against the required tests and questioned how the school’s goal of teaching to the whole child fit into the new mandates.

“We had a breakdown when it all came together. I think it was a real leadership challenge for Jody,” Soltman said. “There were a lot of external factors at play … creating a lot of questioning about who we are and what’s at our core. She showed extraordinary leadership listening to staff, adapting and getting back to reasserting the value of teaching to the whole child.”

Metzger seconded Soltman’s comments and said that the last few years were hard, but would have been hard anywhere. She said that Soltman’s allowing teachers to have a light touch on mandated testing helped keep the school’s unique offerings.

“It was like drinking from a fire hose. There was no time to adjust,” Metzger said of the implementation of all the new requirements. “These last few years were really high stress. We didn’t all agree; that made it tough, but Michael allows us to have the lightest touch on assessments that aren’t helpful to teachers.”

She continued to say that state assessments do give some information that is helpful in the long run, but the biggest issue is that the results of state tests are given to the student’s next teacher, so by the time teachers find out how their students did, the school year is over.

“For teachers themselves, it’s just not that helpful,” Metzger said. “We can use the lightest touch to just make sure the students understand the test’s format and the depth of the questions, which is good teaching anyway.”

The creativity, openness and support from the community is what drew her here, she said.

“The arts of this community are amazing, and the support from VAA (Vashon Allied Arts), PIE (Partners in Education) and the Schools Foundation is the most amazing thing I’ve seen. It’s on another level here. It blows me away,” Metzger said.

Chautauqua Parent Teacher Student Association Interim President Jackie Merrill said that Metzger was always extremely flexible and willing to collaborate. She said that Metzger was a huge supporter of student art and of the school’s SOLE (respect for Self, Others, Learning and our Environment) program.

“From a parent’s standpoint, I felt she supported (the) non-bullying and self-respect program,” Merrill said. “I felt both my kids benefitted and that she really represented that concept in her principalship. The next principal will have to step into some very big shoes.”

Included in those big shoes is Metzger’s expansion of the Spanish language program, a program Metzger said she is proud of. Chautauqua recently welcomed two Spanish interns who are staying with host families, and she hopes the program lives on.

“We need host families for this to continue,” Metzger said. “We’re also planning a full-day kindergarten next year, and I hope the new principal can support that.”

She said that the most important thing she hopes the new principal understands is that there are teachers doing “fantastic things they couldn’t do anywhere else.”

“This morning I was on the top floor, at the fish tank where one of the fifth-grade classes raises Chinook salmon,” Metzger said. “They have hatched and are in the alevin stage where they still have the egg sac on their stomachs, and I was having one of those moments where I was … thinking this will be the last time I see that. I’m getting nostalgic.”

As for plans after retirement, she said that she will take things as they come and isn’t making any plans. She hopes to dedicate more time to home swapping, so she can travel more, but has considered possibly becoming a substitute principal.

“I’m going to wait and see,” Metzger said.