Kelley Schottle is the Principal of Sunnycrest Elementary School, a dual language school in Federal Way Public Schools. Since she has been the building principal there, she has worked to uplift the Multilingual Academy for newcomer students and finishing the restructure of the Spanish dual language program. Her work in FWPS also includes serving on the Principal professional development team, Instructional Materials Committee, and Dual Language Advisory. Prior to her time in Federal Way Public Schools, she has also been a middle school Assistant Principal and Athletic Director in Highline Public Schools, an elementary Assistant Principal in Renton School District, and a secondary Dean of Students and Instruction in Federal Way. Her teaching years were primarily in upper elementary and prior to that she was an early childhood educator with Childhaven, now known as Akin.
Kelley joined the Board of Directors for BELONG Partners because she believed in the mission and work of the organization, seeing it first hand in her own building with how it has impacted the way students and staff engage. As teachers gained more tools to successfully meet the needs of students in her building, there became a visible impact on how students grew their voice, agency, and a collective responsibility towards each other and the school. She attributes the sense of community largely to the work BELONG Partners has supported, elevating the trauma informed lens that was a part of her early training as a therapeutic early childhood educator with Childhaven.
As a former English learner and immigrant, Kelley feels compelled to bring opportunities to her community to support the many gaps and needs immigrant families continue to face within their homes. The generational, language, and cultural divides that she has experienced personally and have helped other families navigate are key reasons why she worked to bring BELONG Partners to FWPS and why she continues to champion its work with other leaders and organizations.
Kelley holds two bachelor degrees from the University of Washington, Seattle, in Comparative Religion and Spanish, with a minor in History. She completed her Master in Teaching also at UW Seattle with a certificate to teach across K-8 and an endorsement in English Language Learning. She received her principal and program administrator credentials from City University of Seattle, and was a National Board Certified Teacher in the area of English as a New Language for Young Adults (11-18).