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Every year, National Hispanic Heritage Month offers an opportunity to honor the diverse histories and contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities across the nation. In Washington, we are fortunate to have leaders who embody this spirit of service, resilience, and representation. Among them is Dr. Susana Reyes — a member of the Washington State Board of Education since 2019, Superintendent of Shoreline Public Schools, and President of the Washington Latino Administrators and Superintendents Association.
We sat down with Dr. Reyes to talk about her path into educational leadership, the mentors who shaped her journey, and her hopes for supporting Hispanic and multilingual students across Washington.
Standing on the Shoulders of Family and Mentors
When reflecting on who inspired her leadership journey, Dr. Reyes began with her parents.
“They are incredibly strong people who made decisions early in life on behalf of their children to work really hard to get us to a place where we could achieve whatever dreams we had for ourselves,” Dr. Reyes said. “And so them coming to this country [when I was six years old] was a very difficult decision that I think both of them had to make to give us the best opportunity to be able to achieve our dreams.”
Dr. Reyes also pointed to teachers, professors, and colleagues who believed in her potential.
“We often talk about standing on the shoulders of others,” she said. “Some people that come to mind are obviously my elementary school teachers like Mrs. St. Mary. [There is] my math teacher in high school, Mr. Grosso, who helped me really think about actual college experience for me that I didn't even know could ever be a possibility.”
Among the people Dr. Reyes credits as instrumental to her early career in education is Dr. Irene Gonzáles. While pursuing her bachelor’s degree, Reyes worked in the office at Adams Elementary School in Yakima, where one day, Gonzáles stopped by, and Dr. Reyes learned she was the Principal of McKinley Elementary. Reyes said she was immediately drawn to Gonzáles, seeing in her a reflection of herself as a fellow Latina educator. Several years later, the two met during their doctoral program studies and formed a lasting friendship and completed the program together.
Other people who played a role in her development as a professional include her mentor and champion, Dr. Gene Sharatt, along with Dr. Mimi Wolverton from her master’s program, Dr. Dennis Ray and Dr. Gay Selby from her superintendent credentialing program, and Dr. Nancy Kyle and Dr. Joan Kingrey from her doctoral program.
She said she’s also shaped by her experiences as the child of farm workers. Growing up, she and her siblings worked alongside their parents in the orchards of Central Washington during the summers, spring breaks, and sometimes in the fall harvest season.
Dr. Reyes reflected that her experiences working hard to help put food on the table, pay bills, and contribute to her community have deeply shaped who she is today, both as an education professional but also how she identifies as a human being. This hard work gave her an appreciation for what she could aspire toward and an understanding of how education could help her achieve it.
“Everything matters. Every experience and every person, and the connections that we build along the way,” she said. “Whether it's through farm work and all the orchardists that we got to know or through school, and all of the educators who helped us, to the present with our colleagues and the people we work with on a daily basis.”
Listening to Communities
When reflecting on the biggest opportunities to improve outcomes for Hispanic and multilingual students, Dr. Reyes emphasized the importance of listening and engaging with communities so that the State Board, school administrators, and teachers can understand where barriers exist and how they might be adjusted.
“There isn't one single right way to do this,” Reyes said. “We know that our students can take a number of different pathways to reach whatever goal they have in mind, whatever is going to bring them the greatest joy, whatever's going to help them feel the most successful, whatever's going to feel the most fulfilling and rewarding and satisfying for their future.”
She noted that this approach is central to the Board’s work and expressed excitement about shaping these opportunities as a member of the executive committee. She specifically called out FutureReady, the Board’s initiative to modernize Washington’s graduation requirements, as an area of work that has and will continue to benefit from this kind of community engagement.
Finding Pride in Small Connections and Advice for the Next Generation of Educators
With decades of experience across classrooms, schools, districts, and state-level leadership, Dr. Reyes has a long list of accomplishments.
But when asked what she is most proud of, her answer was simple: the personal connections she’s made with students and families.
“I'm really proud of that because I know people who have been able to achieve. And I know that I had a little bit of influence,” Reyes said. “Whether it's helped get them across the finish line or now they have their master's degree or doctorate because of a conversation [we had] or me making time to listen and help chart out a path.”
It’s in this pride of making small impacts for students that Dr. Reyes based her advice to young Hispanic students considering careers in education.
“Don't think twice. Jump in. This is a space where you belong. We need you. Our children need you. Think about the experiences you had that were great, and experiences that maybe fell short a little bit, and think about the opportunity you might have now to impact future generations of children,” Reyes said.
She pointed to the approximately 294,000 Hispanic and Latino students currently enrolled in Washington schools as evidence of the need for diverse educators.
“[Children] notice who is seeing them. And when they see someone they feel familiar with, like familia, it's a different experience for them. And it's so important during these times when we know that we're growing more and more diverse and the needs are there.”