ARLINGTON – Chrys Sweeting, an assistant superintendent in the Puyallup School District, has been named the new schools chief in Arlington.

“Doctor Sweeting comes to our district with over thirty years of educational experience in Washington state, as a teacher, principal and administration,” school board president Ursula Ghirardo said. “Her background also includes extensive experience and oversight in the areas of Human Resources, Facilities, Special Programs and the passage of bonds. Her leadership style is collaborative, and she believes in educating the whole child so that each can reach their full potential.”

Sweeting was selected after an extensive process over the past eight weeks involving parents, staff, students and the community. Ghirardo said she appreciated the input of the community.

“The quality of input and feedback we received authenticated every step of the process. Our highly qualified pool of applicants reflected the great ongoing work of our district,” Ghirardo said.

The superintendent search began with focus group meetings and a survey to gather input from the community. The information helped the school board decide which candidates would be interviewed.

The other finalists were Andy Rogers and Marci Shepard. Rogers is an experienced superintendent in Buckye, Ariz., and previously held the position of executive director and principal in Marysville School District.

Shepard is the superintendent in Orting School District, where she also held the positions of assistant superintendent and executive director for teaching, learning, assessment and technology.

Sweeting, who was scheduled to start her new job in early July, is the assistant superintendent of Instruction, Learning, Curriculum and Assessment for Puyallup.

Sweeting replaces Kristine McDuffy, who has accepted the same post with the Edmonds School District.