Oak Harbor Schools names longtime educator as North Whidbey Middle assistant principal

Oak Harbor Public Schools has turned to a familiar face to help steer North Whidbey Middle School through its next phase of change. Amanda Reed, who has worked at the Oak Harbor campus for 19 years, will become the school’s assistant principal next school year.

Reed has spent her career at North Whidbey Middle School as a special education teacher and MTSS coach, work that placed her close to the students and systems most tied to daily school performance. The district said she stood out from a strong pool of applicants because of her leadership, commitment to students and staff, and experience supporting inclusionary practices and continuous improvement.

That background matters at a school where the next assistant principal is expected to do more than handle routine operations. Reed’s role will sit at the center of student support, academic intervention and school climate work, especially for families watching how the school responds to attendance, behavior and learning gaps. Her history mentoring student teachers and helping staff grow also suggests the district wants an administrator who can strengthen classrooms as well as office-based systems.

The promotion also follows another leadership change at North Whidbey Middle School. On Feb. 5, Oak Harbor Public Schools announced that Beez Lucero would become the next principal after Russ Peters retired following 11 years leading the school. Lucero had already served as assistant principal for more than three years, giving the building a second consecutive leadership transition rooted in people who know the campus well.

That continuity lines up with the district’s broader strategic plan, which focuses on inclusion and belonging, mastery of learning standards and future readiness. In its 2025-26 progress update, Oak Harbor Public Schools said 75% of students were meeting a 90% attendance benchmark, 83% reported supportive relationships with adults at school and the district saw a 6% increase in students with individualized education programs receiving 80% of instructional time in general education classrooms since the 2022-23 school year.

The district is also forming an Inclusionary Practices Task Force to review districtwide barriers and recommend ways to expand access. At North Whidbey Middle School, that kind of work lands in a building serving grades 7-8 at 67 NE Izett Street in Oak Harbor, with about 735 students, roughly 43 classroom teachers and a student-teacher ratio near 17:1. For a school still building on recent progress, Reed’s move into administration signals that the next chapter is meant to deepen, not reset, the work already underway.