Biography

Hello Friends! I am truly inspired to be part of the warm and wonderful Thornton Creek community. As a native Seattleite, I am aware of the depth of family support and the extraordinary value of Expeditionary Learning that students benefit from here. I come to Thornton Creek with a long teaching career behind me (K-8), over two decades running my own tutoring and enrichment business, and most recently coaching student-teachers from UW in their field placements at various Seattle Schools including Thornton Creek! As the Academic Interventionist for 4th and 5th grade, I will provide individual and small group support for Math and Literacy skills. I look forward to engaging students with authentic learning opportunities that will ensure growth, motivation and confidence. Please come find me in my work space in the common area between Mim’s and Robyn’s rooms.

An SPS graduate and parent of SPS graduates, Gerrit Kischner has been the principal of Thornton Creek Elementary since 2021. Prior to joining the Thornton Creek team, Gerrit had the privilege of completing thirteen full years as principal of Genesee Hill/Schmitz Park Elementary in West Seattle, where he managed rapid growth from 316 students to 720 students and watched his first Kindergarten class graduate from West Seattle High School; at Genesee Hill, he became known for strong aligned curriculum, inclusion practices deeply embedded in general education, and positive community building, Gerrit served for four years as the assistant principal at TOPS K-8 School in Seattle.

His first love is teaching, beginning with community education projects in Salvador, Brazil, and including joyful experiences at Turner Middle School in Philadelphia Public Schools, RJ Grey Jr. High in Acton, Massachusetts, and the International School Manila. In 1996, he returned to his hometown Seattle to teach 9th grade Pacific Rim Studies and founded a nationally-awarded culminating project program (CAPstone: Citizen Action Project) at Kamiakin Jr. High in the Lake Washington School District.

As a district leader, Gerrit has served as President of the Principals Association of Seattle Schools and as the founding principal co-chair of the Peer Assistance and Review Panel of Seattle Schools (2016-2021). He is a graduate of Garfield High School (Seattle), Swarthmore College, and the Danforth Program for Educational Leadership at the University of Washington. In 2013, he completed work as a participant in the pilot of a National Board Principal Certification, and he is currently enrolled in the Educational Leadership doctoral program at Washington State University.

Publications:

"Shaping Global Classrooms" (with Nancy Bacon) Educational Leadership, October 2002

"Democracy in India: a curriculum for grades 8-10," World Affairs Council, Seattle (2003)

Co-author, "Teaching the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child." In O'Donnell, Daniel. Children are People Too. Anvil Press/UNESCO: Manila (Philippines), 1996.