I just realized that this is the 8th year I’ve shot the ParentMap Superheroes for Washington Families feature.  This is one of my most fun and rewarding jobs.  The staff at ParentMap are like family to me and it is always an honor to meet these Superheroes who make such a difference in the lives of so many youth!

Here is the story link – 2015 ParentMap Superheroes

This is Deputy Superintendent of Tacoma Public Schools Josh Garcia and his kids.  From the article –

“Josh Garcia is changing the way schools view success. When he became deputy superintendent of Tacoma Public Schools (the state’s third-largest school district, serving 30,000 students) in 2012, he started a conversation with parents, teachers and the community about what they thought was essential in a child’s schooling and overall growth.

Garcia went on to reshape the district’s accountability system. Usually, districts measure their success by attendance, test scores and graduation rates; Tacoma’s system considers a much wider range of indicators. With the new system in place, Tacoma has already seen positive results — in the past two years, the district has experienced increased enrollment in pre–K programs, graduation rates have improved by over 20 percent, and the number of high school students taking college-level courses has almost doubled.”