Daniel T.C. Liao
Cascade Elementary principal Shannon Harvey was awarded the prestigious 2008 Milken National Educational Award for her outstanding work as an educator. The award comes with a prize of $25,000. Teacher magazine calls the Milken the “Oscars of Teaching.”
Harvey has been the principal at Cascade Elementary in Renton for five years. She has been with the Renton School District for 16 years. Under her leadership, Cascade has gone from 48 percent of students passing the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) reading test to 81 percent passing.
Harvey grew up on Whidbey Island and graduated from South Whidbey High School. She attended Western Washington University, Seattle University and Seattle Pacific University, where she received her doctorate.
Harvey was the only Washingtonian who received the Milken award this year. ♦