AMHS WELCOMES NEW PRINCIPAL FOR 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR

  • AMHS

On behalf of the AMHS community, I am honored to announce the hiring of Alicia Mitchell as school Principal for the 2019-2020 school year. Alicia brings tremendous experience from over fifteen years in education including teaching English at Holy Names Academy, Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Lake Washington High School. Alicia transitioned from the classroom into an administrative role at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart where she served as the Dean of Faculty and Instruction for three years. She is currently completing her third year as an Assistant Principal at Skyline High School in Sammamish. Alicia is an active member of the church and a parishioner at Assumption Parish in Seattle.

On behalf of the AMHS community, I am honored to announce the hiring of Alicia Mitchell as school Principal for the 2019-2020 school year. Alicia brings tremendous experience from over fifteen years in education including teaching English at Holy Names Academy, Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Lake Washington High School. Alicia transitioned from the classroom into an administrative role at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart where she served as the Dean of Faculty and Instruction for three years. She is currently completing her third year as an Assistant Principal at Skyline High School in Sammamish. Alicia is an active member of the church and a parishioner at Assumption Parish in Seattle.

Alicia earned a Bachelor’s degree of English and Instruction from Western Washington University, a Masters of Education from Grand Canyon University, and a Washington State Administrative Certificate from Western Washington University. Our principal search committee invited her to visit the AMHS campus following her initial interview in March. During her visit, Alicia met with members of the parent association, the student leadership program, the Diversity and Inclusion committee, and members of the faculty and staff. The feedback from the constituent groups along with glowing references from various schools gave our search committee full confidence to extend Alicia the offer to join our school community.

Along with other educators in the area, Alicia worked with the Office for Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Seattle to interpret the USCCB’s framework, “Curriculum Doctrinal Elements” crafting standards for each of the six core courses.  Through their steadfast year-long effort, the group presented the Archdiocese of Seattle Secondary Religion Standards to the Archbishop in July of 2016.  The document is now in use at the 11 area Catholic high schools.  

Alicia brings a wide array of experiences and best practices from her work in five of the highest achieving schools and districts in our area. She is thrilled to return to Catholic education and is genuinely moved by the mission, the history and the tradition of Archbishop Murphy High School. As we enter our next cycle of accreditation with the WCEA, I am confident Alicia will provide us with clear leadership and collaborate with our schoolhouse leaders on a comprehensive self-study to present to the visiting accreditation team. Our accreditation process will allow us to develop strategic goals and improvement plans for the next six years. Alicia is excited to connect with Alex Crane this spring to begin her transition to AMHS. She will continue her work at Skyline High School this spring with a starting date at AMHS on July 1, 2019.

She asked to share this message to our school community:

I am absolutely delighted to join the Archbishop Murphy High School community! From the first time I set foot on campus, it was immediately evident AMHS is a very special place. I look forward to meeting all of you soon and reconnecting with those of you I met throughout the interview process. As an educator, I believe supportive relationships are at the core of our work.  With that said, I am eager to start getting to know the many members of the community and learning from each of you what makes AMHS such a great place. In the upcoming year, I am energized by the opportunity to work together with the faculty, staff, students, and families of AMHS to continue building on the strong foundation already in place. I feel tremendously blessed to serve as your next principal and be part of Archbishop Murphy High School’s future.  

Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Alicia Mitchell.

Peace,
Steve Schmutz
AMHS, President