A Battle Ground High School graduate with over three decades of experience as an educator will be stepping into the district’s superintendent role in July.
Battle Ground Public Schools (BGPS) Superintendent Denny Waters will be retiring at the end of the current school year after 18 years in the school district. Waters will be replaced by current Deputy Superintendent Shelly Whitten. Waters said the move to appoint Whitten was the clear choice for the role.
“Shelly’s the right person for the job,” he said. “We’ve had some people come to board meetings and talk about (how) we should do a national search … I think a search is a great thing if you need to search, but if you don’t need to to search, why search? And one of the things I know about this community is that it benefits from having somebody who understands this community.”
Whitten comes from a line of Battle Ground Public Schools District relatives.
“This is a huge honor,” she said. “Having been from my family who’s been in this community for generations, you know, my grandmother and both my parents were Battle Ground High School folks, as well as myself and my brother and my husband. So that in and of itself just makes me really, really excited to be able to continue serving this community in the school district.”
Whitten said it is a little daunting to follow the footsteps of Waters, who is beloved by the district, but so is Whitten, as many teachers and community members have been sharing their support at board meeting public comment sessions.
“I feel like Denny’s just paved a huge, wonderful path for us,” Whitten said. “I’m excited to bring some of my belief systems, who I am as a person to the role. It’s worked for me as a teacher, as a building administrator, to just be true to who I am. And I love, out of all the jobs I’ve probably had, I think working as a special ed teacher has been one of my favorites. And I think that has a lot to do with the fact that kids are the center of my belief system, and so I hope to bring that into the superintendency.”
As Whitten knows the community well and won’t need to take any time learning her surroundings, she said she will be able to “hit the floor running” and keep some of the programs of great importance to the area and district going. If the upcoming April 22 special election levy passes, then Whitten will keep all of them going, she said. She sees passage of the upcoming levy as a key to providing consistency and the ability to propel the district forward.
“There have been so many positive changes in Battle Ground Public Schools, and stepping back makes me sick to my stomach, frankly,” Whitten said if the levy were not to pass.
Whitten said engaging the community will be as crucial as ever in today’s climate. When Waters started his superintendent tenure, the citizens advisory and student advisory committees were implemented. Whitten added that she will look toward additional opportunities through local entities such as Rotary clubs and the Battle Ground Business Association for involvement and partnerships to further build the district’s offerings for community needs.
For Waters, after being involved in education for many years, retirement will mark the next chapter in life — being a grandpa. Waters and his wife purchased a house in Seattle around the block from his daughter. His grandson is now 20 months old.
“The plan is just to be a grandpa and enjoy life,” he said.
Waters also added that he will miss his time both in the Battle Ground community and the role of superintendent. He said serving as superintendent was the culmination of his time as an educator and also the greatest honor of his career.
“I will look back with a lot of fondness,” he said. “And I will look back with pride because I feel like we really have done a good job. I will miss the camaraderie and the collegial relationships that I formed. That’s been probably one of the best things about this is that there’s wonderful people in this district and working with wonderful people is always great.”
