Celebrate this year’s Thomas B. Foster Award for Excellence recipients: Principal Regina Carter at Madrona Elementary School and Principal Zachary Stowell at Robert Eagle Staff Middle School.
The Alliance for Education, the local education fund for the Seattle Public School district, awarded two principals the 2025 Thomas B. Foster Award for Excellence, each receiving a $30,000 award grant for their schools. The award is larger than ever, celebrating the Alliance’s 30th Anniversary. The 2024-25 school year recipients are Principal Regina Carter at Madrona Elementary School and Principal Zachary Stowell at Robert Eagle Staff Middle School.
The largest of a few awards the Alliance stewards, the Foster Award recognizes and honors two outstanding Seattle Public Schools principals who have demonstrated success in advancing educational justice and racial equity in their school community. Given to SPS principals since 1999, the endowed award commemorates Thomas B. Foster, a prominent Seattle attorney who displayed a strong personal commitment to public education. The award is unrestricted, giving school staff additional funding outside of a traditional school budget to best serve their students’ needs.
“The Foster Award is more than just a celebration of leadership; it is a recognition of those who dare to envision schools where every student thrives—where educational justice is not just a concept, but a daily practice,” said Dr. Brent Jones, Superintendent at Seattle Public Schools. “Principal Stowell and Principal Carter lead with courage, compassion and self-reflection that makes a difference for their students, their staff, and to the Seattle community. Congratulations!”
Madrona staff and parents shared during the nomination process how Principal Carter has been a game-changer for their school. When Principal Carter came to Madrona, she focused on ensuring all students, especially students furthest from educational justice, succeeded. This includes bringing uniforms to level the playing field, creating community partnerships like multicultural night and college day, and guiding educators to make decisions that enhance academic rigor for students. Madrona Elementary was recently also recognized by the Washington School Recognition Program for Closing Gaps and Growth in the 2023-24 school year.
“I’m deeply honored to receive this prestigious principal of the year award. I am proud to be the principal of Madrona. This is the neighborhood where my grandparents used to live and the school where many of my family members attended. Education is important to my family. They taught me that education is a gift that not everyone receives,” said Regina Carter, Principal at Madrona Elementary School. “Every day at Madrona we get to give students that opportunity, making sure they receive high quality instruction. My father is 83 years old now and is here to see me get this award in front of all my students. It makes me feel so honored and blessed.”
Principal Stowell is called upon across the district and state for his leadership as a principal that has fostered a school community grounded in equity, cultural responsiveness, and restorative justice. He deeply listens to student and family voices, creating restorative justice circles, parent advisory groups and prioritizes all stakeholders’ sense of belonging by co-designing all school systems and routines to empower shared ownership of the school community. He has led an initiative called C3 Focus Student where school staff intentionally focus on students furthest from educational justice. All of this and more has led to Robert Eagle Staff scoring among the highest in the district on the school climate survey.
“When I came to Robert Eagle Staff with my assistant principal, we said, ‘we’re going to try to do middle school different’ by centering on the lived experiences of students and those that are historically marginalized, with the goal that we all rise when we do that,” said Zachary Stowell, Principal at Robert Eagle Staff Middle School. “So, to get recognized for that work a couple years after when we’re truly creating upward movement in student achievement and belonging is validating in so many ways. While this award has my name on it, it’s a real testament to the entire staff.”
“As we celebrate 30 years of supporting Seattle schools, it was an honor to present the Thomas B. Foster Award for Excellence to Principal Carter and Principal Stowell in recognition of their energizing, persistent and student-centered leadership,” said Yonas Fikak, Vice President of Impact at Alliance for Education. “Their dedication to transforming antiquated school systems to uplift students furthest from educational justice exemplifies who we want to be leading our schools. As a former school leadership team member, I know firsthand that Principal Carter & Principal Stowell are what antiracist leadership looks and sounds like.”
Foster awardees were selected based on colleague and community nominations alongside demonstrating growth in school building level data metrics like equity & antiracism school climate surveys, district college & career readiness goals, and standardized test proficiency in math and English language arts.
About the Alliance for Education
For 30 years, the Alliance for Education has worked in partnership with Seattle Public Schools to address crucial challenges facing students, families and educators. Our mission is to support excellence in education by advancing educational justice and racial equity for students in Seattle Public Schools. Our work is collaborative as we seek to address systemic inequities in public schools and create a more equitable and just education system that allows all Seattle students to thrive.