Rich Mellish – Principal of West Mercer Elementary

Location: West Mercer

Job Description: Rich is the first line of support for students, staff and parents. His primary responsibility is to make sure West Mercer is a safe and welcoming school so that students learn everyday. He works hard to engage all stakeholders in the school community on the same goal – student learning.

Typical Day: There isn’t one. Rich spends his time in classrooms as much as possible. Sometimes he does a school-wide “walk-through,” dropping in on classrooms for 5-10 minutes at a time to get a sense of student learning. Other times he does longer, more formal visits. Rich’s other tasks involve communication with staff, families and others involved in the school, as well as budget planning and professional development for teachers. He enjoys working with others to support and develop school systems and structures that enhance student learning. Everyday is unique, and although there is the occasional need to respond to unplanned issues, Rich says, “Things run smoothly at West Mercer. I work with a wonderful staff team.” For the last year and a half Rich has been part of a district team that selected and is implementing a new elementary math curriculum.

Best part of the job: Spending time with students and supporting teachers in their efforts to help all students learn.

Something people may not know: Rich learned how to speak Spanish, French and Swahili in college. “I wanted to go to Africa, but never made it. I ended up going to Mexico and Albania, but I didn’t learn much Albanian. It is a language unrelated to any language on earth!”

Years worked in the district: 2 years. Rich came to Mercer Island after 14 years in the Seattle Public School District where he taught high school math for seven years and served seven years as an elementary principal.

Outside interests: Rich and his wife Jennifer live in Renton with their two boys Ty (age 6) and Ryan (age 3). Rich enjoys spending time with his family, playing racquetball, white-water rafting and reading a good book.