New 4J superintendent to focus on building district culture of belonging, collaboration

A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the composition of board in Sedro-Woolley School District in Washington when Miriam Mickelson left. Only one original board member who hired her was still on the board at the time she departed.

On the day new Eugene School District 4J superintendent Miriam Mickelson moved from the Philippines to the United States, she landed in Seattle with a rumbling stomach. 

She spotted a KFC as she and her American husband drove to their new home. She knew KFC, she thought, envisioning the rice and chicken she was familiar with in the Philippines.

But as her eyes searched the menu, she realized she was wrong — this was not the KFC she knew.

“Why is there no rice for the chicken?” she asked her husband.

He explained that American KFCs serve their chicken with biscuits and gravy and proceeded to try quelling her craving for rice with a Taco Bell burrito.

Mickelson didn’t end up eating dinner that night, feeling disoriented in her new environment.

It was her first of many experiences of culture shock.

Mickelson was 22 when she immigrated to the United States. She went on to become a teacher, high school principal, executive director and superintendent in Washington public schools. She earned a doctorate in education from Seattle Pacific University. 

But the humbling experience of being a newcomer profoundly shaped Mickelson and her philosophy of education, giving her empathy and a drive to help families of all backgrounds feel like they truly belong. 

Mickelson, now 48, is taking the top job in 4J during a challenging time for the district, which is facing budget cuts, declining enrollment and post-COVID challenges in learning and student well-being. 

Mickelson aims to steer 4J toward a culture rooted in inclusion and collaboration. She said she will look to the community for input on how to move the district forward amid the upheaval public schools are experiencing nationwide.

Focusing on the district’s culture, student and staff needs 

Now in her fourth week on the job, Mickelson was careful when talking about her priorities and goals, mindful of her limited local experience. One priority, however, was clear.

Attending to the culture of the district will be her first order of business.

Mickelson said before she addresses 4J state test scores or other measures of academic success, she wants to establish a welcoming environment for all students and ensure staff feel supported. This will include some fine-tuning of district goals so there aren’t too many initiatives going on at once, Mickelson said, as well as focusing on student needs, including heightened mental health concerns and the use of social media.

In addition to the support students receive from mental health counselors and school counselors, Mickelson sees the embedding of social-emotional learning into everyday classroom activities as important.

“Students come to us to learn academics, but they also come with experiences from their homes, from their home lives, that could either promote or deter their ability to focus on academics,” Mickelson said. “Our staff understanding that is very, very helpful.”

How Mickelson got to 4J

Mickelson left Sedro-Woolley School District in Washington, about 70 miles north of Seattle, because of a shift in district priorities. While she was unable to share the full reasoning behind her decision, because of agreements signed with Sedro-Woolley upon her exit, Mickelson said that of the five school board members who hired her in 2021, one original member remained at her departure and the board “decided that they wanted to go in a different direction.” Mickelson left through a mutual separation agreement.

While Mickelson was still there, the board tried to pass a resolution banning transgender athletes from competing in school sports, according to a news article, but failed. Mickelson brought in the school attorney to inform the board that the resolution was likely illegal.

Mickelson said in an interview with Lookout Eugene-Springfield that before the board’s change in direction, she had intended to stay at Sedro-Woolley for a long time and misses the people there.

“It was a community that I came to love and appreciate, and I really enjoyed the staff and the people that I worked with and the students,” she said.

Mickelson was attracted to the role at 4J because of the support for public education she saw. She looked up the percentage of “yes” votes on the most recent 4J tax levy, which provides the district between $25 million and $29 million a year, and saw that it passed with 76.4% of voters in support.

“That was something very concrete that I came across that I thought, oh, this is a community that will say ‘yes’ to schools,” Mickelson said.

Seeking community input on budget, phone policy, student retention

After this year’s net budget cuts of $15.8 million, 4J is facing a potential $27.5 million more in cuts this coming year because of declining enrollment, rising costs and the inability to continue spending down reserves after the end of COVID-era federal grants.

Mickelson said she does not know yet what she will prioritize when planning the 2026-27 budget, but she wants budget discussions to be collaborative, getting input from the school board, families and the community.

She will approach 4J’s new phone policy similarly. The policy results from the governor’s new requirement to ban student use of cellphones at schools, and Mickelson emphasized 4J’s alignment with Gov. Tina Kotek’s initiative.

“We really would like to speak with students, families, engage with them so that when we roll it out in January, there’s an understanding of why we’re doing this, and it’s not just, ‘Well, it’s an executive order,’” Mickelson said.

Once the state government releases a sample policy of the cellphone ban in early August, 4J leaders will use the sample, along with feedback from the community, to draft a district policy. School districts statewide are required to adopt their phone policy by Oct. 31 and begin enforcing it on the first school day in January.

Mickelson was not certain how the district will collect feedback, but she said district leaders generally collect feedback through focus groups, surveys, meetings with parent-teacher organizations, and conversations with individual community members. Students will have the opportunity to give input through their student representative on the school board as well as through other, not-yet-specified avenues.

Another topic on which Mickelson is eager for community feedback: Why certain students are leaving 4J to go to other districts or seeking alternative schooling options.

“(The) plan for retaining students and keeping students is more targeted and more responsive when you know exactly why families are leaving,” Mickelson said.

As federal government values around diversity, equity and inclusion shift, Mickelson wants to anchor 4J in its commitment to inclusion and belonging above all else.

“If they are in our buildings, they are our students,” Mickelson said. “We love them, we care for them, we want them to be healthy and happy, to be learning in a place where they belong, regardless of their parents’ political affiliation, regardless of their background, regardless of whether they were born in America or not, regardless of their gender identity, regardless of whatever experiences, whatever values, whatever beliefs.”