PORT ANGELES — When Port Angeles School District Superintendent Marc Jackson started his career in public education, he was 25 years old and 6 feet tall.
Now, preparing to retire June 29, 2018, and 67 years old, Jackson stands at 5-foot-6, he said.
“So what happens?” Jackson said, laughing. “You develop a warped sense of humor in this job.”
Despite his measurable loss in height, Jackson has gained 42 years’ experience in public education, serving in a variety of roles: superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal and teacher.
By the time he retires next June, Jackson will have spent four of those years as superintendent for the Port Angeles School District.
“Some people see these things in terms of years,” he said during a school board meeting Thursday. “But I see them in experiences.”
A few experiences will stand out to Jackson beyond his time in the superintendent seat: passing education levies, observing Port Angeles High School’s graduation rates improve from 71 percent to 81 percent and watching Port Angeles School District’s “second to none” performing arts program grow, he said.
He recalled a conversation with the Port Angeles fire marshal that made him laugh. The marshal expressed concern when more than 600 students in the All-City Strings program were scheduled to perform in the PAHS gymnasium.
“The program was so big, the fire marshal said it was too big for the biggest building in the county,” he said. “It was one of the OMG moments.”
Jackson also feels proud of the people he’s worked alongside over the past three years.
When he first joined the district in 2014, Jackson said, many of the employees in the district office were temporary. Since then, he has staffed several more permanent positions with “good, competent people.” Jackson also dropped scores of other names: teachers, principals, parents — people he feels embody the district’s vision.
From his end, Jackson assumes a “supporter” role, he said.
“If our people feel they can park their cars, walk into the building and make a difference in the lives of our youngsters, then we’ve been doing our jobs,” he said. “At my role, we’re just here to support them.”
In one of his standout moments from 2017, Jackson celebrated with Hamilton Elementary School as Principal Gary Pringle, students and staff accepted the Washington State Whole Child Award.
The national accolade recognizes a school culture that exemplifies the five tenets of “The Whole Child” initiative: healthy, safe, engaged, supported and challenged.
Pringle, students and staff received the award based on “high CEE scores, high expectations and above state average academic scores,” according to the Washington State Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.
Behind every test score, a student stands more confident, more equipped and more challenged for the future, Jackson said — and that’s the result of positive teacher-student relationships.
“Many of our teachers are magicians,” he said.
Jackson feels lucky that he’s been able to spend his 42-year career in education, he said. But he also conceded that it’s been a challenging course to navigate.
“This is a hard job,” he said. “You don’t always get what you want.”
Jackson said he was hired in Port Angeles in part to advocate for a $98.25 million, 25-year high school replacement bond in 2015. The bond would have funded replacement of all high school academic buildings and refurbished the auditorium, also known as the performing arts center.
It fell short of the 60 percent supermajority needed for passage.
“Even though we didn’t achieve what we needed to, we’ve grown,” Jackson said. “We learned what voters want.”
Fundraising for Port Angeles schools has posed the greatest challenge for Jackson, he said.
The task is one no educator should have to face, he said. In an ideal word, the state education budget — full and fair — would fall into Jackson’s lap. That ideal doesn’t match reality, he said.
“I didn’t go into this job to be a fundraiser,” he said.
He offered a few words to future educators tasked with fundraising for education in the years ahead: “Be a fighter.”
This message took hold of Jackson when he was working as superintendent for the Silver Valley Unified School District in California and never let go.
He remembered a U.S. Army general, the father of a student enrolled in the district, visiting classrooms and then popping into Jackson’s office.
“I appreciate your [funding] challenges,” the man said, pausing. “But there is a complacency here.”
It was one of those “aha” moments, Jackson said. “Why is it OK for us to be complacent in education?”
Educators need to hold a national view and fight for education funding, he said.
“You don’t have to make do and let them run all over us,” he said. “It’s not OK to give us the scraps off the table.”
In his final year, Jackson will set his sights on launching a February 2018 capital levy and firming up a district-wide facilities plan, he said. If possible, he hopes to train his successor.
Then, he will join his wife, Jaki, in retirement. They will remain in their Port Angeles home overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The couple are due for a trip to California to visit their two children, Courtenay, 44, and Colby, 40. They also have two grandchildren and a grandbaby on the way, Jackson said.
He looks forward to playing tennis and golfing more often.
“My golf game needs work,” he said. “My game has really dipped.”
Jackson’s golfing partner, Clallam County Administrator Jim Jones, chuckled at this prospect. The two crack jokes on the golf course, but Jones admitted that Jackson is the superior tennis player and a good sport.
“He likes to poke fun at himself. He doesn’t take himself too seriously,” Jones said.
“He’s humble. His golf game gives him something to be humble about.”
________
Reporter Sarah Sharp can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or at ssharp@peninsuladailynews.com.
