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He will replace Gayle Mar-Chun, who has led Madison since July 2005, and plans to retire on June 28.
“I am very excited about becoming the new principal of Madison Elementary School, and am looking forward to working with parents and staff in supporting the students and school community,” Spatola-Knoll said in a news release. “Madison is my neighborhood school, so I feel privileged and honored to serve as the school principal. I am also thankful for the time, experiences and friendships I have made while at Roosevelt.”
Spatola-Knoll has served at the helm of Roosevelt since 2006. Prior to that, he was a fifth-grade teacher at Garfield Elementary School in Olympia from 1993-2006.
Mar-Chun said she’s pleased with the choice of her successor.
“He cares deeply about kids and will work very well with our students, staff and families,” she said. “I know he’ll do a superb job.”
Madison Elementary School, located in Olympia’s Eastside neighborhood, serves about 250 students in preschool to fifth-grade.
It was recently one of five schools in the state honored as a Title I, Part A Distinguished School by the National Title I Association and the U.S. Department of Education.
Even though about 55 to 60 percent of its students qualify for the free- and reduced-lunch program, the school has beaten district and state averages for the past two years in standardized reading scores.
In addition to serving as Madison’s principal, Spatola-Knoll will also serve as the district’s Title I director, a job that’s also currently held by Mar-Chun.
In that position, he will write Title I grant applications and oversee federal funding for programs such as all-day or extended kindergarten, tutoring and parent involvement activities.
