Celebrate this year’s Thomas B. Foster Award for Excellence recipients: Principal Carrie Wheeler at Viewlands Elementary and Principal Mary McDaniel at Highland Park Elementary.
The Alliance for Education, the local education fund for Seattle Public Schools, awarded two principals the 2026 Thomas B. Foster Award for Excellence, each receiving a $25,000 award grant for their schools. The 2025-26 school year recipients are Principal Carrie Wheeler at Viewlands Elementary School and Principal Mary McDaniel at Highland Park Elementary 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.
“I am so happy to celebrate Principals Wheeler and McDaniel in receiving the Foster Award for their wonderful work in our schools. They are both incredible principals who have done so many amazing things for our schools, our children, and our faculty,” said Ben Shuldiner, Superintendent at Seattle Public Schools. “These awards are a partnership with the Alliance, and we are so appreciative of their support of SPS. It is so important to honor our principals for the great work they do. The job is incredibly rewarding but also very difficult. And they don’t always get the praise they deserve. I am so glad that we were able to host a whole assembly to thank Principals Wheeler and McDaniel for their great work.”
Principal Carrie Wheeler at Viewlands Elementary School, north of Ballard, is being recognized for her deep commitment to creating a school community where every student and family feels seen, valued, and included. Parents highlighted her leadership in centering the experiences of multilingual learners, uplifting voices that have historically been underrepresented, and fostering a school culture where diversity is embraced as a core strength. She has helped build a more welcoming, equitable, and connected school community for students through initiatives like CoGen, a student advisory group of Black and Latinx 4th and 5th graders; inclusive family engagement nights and parent newsletter communications; celebrations of diverse cultural traditions like Dia De Los Muertos, Lunar New Year and Ramadan among others; or partnering with the PTSA to broaden access to arts and music enrichment.
This is my eighth year being a principal at Viewlands and what keeps me going is this community. There is a feeling that we are all in it together and that we love our community of students, parents, teachers and partners,” said Carrie Wheeler, Principal at Viewlands Elementary School and 2026 Foster Award Recipient. “Education is tricky and there’s a lot going on right now: we’re serving students and families with all kinds of needs. So, the partnerships we have, like with the Alliance, help us serve our community of diverse learners and fulfill diverse family needs. A school can’t do it alone. It’s an honor to lead Viewlands and I hope this award shows everyone the great work that we’re all doing together.”
Principal Mary McDaniel is described as a ‘warm demander’ whose leadership at Highland Park Elementary in West Seattle is rooted in relationships, equity and showing up for her community in tangible ways. Under her leadership, the school’s Extended Resource program has been strengthened, and she has actively supported the growth of Highland Park’s Racial Equity Team. As one community nomination reflected, ‘promoting racial justice begins with the simple but powerful act of building authentic relationships.’ When staff proposed creating the Rainbow Alliance to support LGBTQIA+ students and allies, Principal McDaniel immediately embraced the idea. Her innovative leadership can also be seen through Mustang Blocks, a dedicated time within the school schedule that gives students flexible learning experiences beyond a traditional schedule model.
Her commitment to students extends beyond policy and programs: when substitutes do not show up or staffing is short, she steps into classrooms herself to teach or helps serve breakfast and lunch to ensure students’ needs are met. Each morning, Principal McDaniel is visible and present making sure students are settled in the gym, ensuring those who need breakfast are fed, and greeting students and families outside the school doors. She takes time to genuinely ask families how they are doing and listens intently, often pausing her own responsibilities to support a parent who needs conversation or care. Through these daily acts, Principal McDaniel helps families feel welcomed, respected and deeply valued as part of the Highland Park community.
“We all need to remember why we work in education. For me, these students represent me when I grew up down South and my home life wasn’t great. I was in fourth grade, and I remember I would finish my work so early and I would go to the office and help out. The principal sat me in his chair in his office and he said, ‘McDaniel, you’re going to be a principal one day.’ And I said to him, ‘No, I’m not. I don’t want to be a principal. I don’t want to be a teacher.’ He saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself years ago, and that’s what we’re here for at Highland Park,” said Mary McDaniel, Principal at Highland Park Elementary School and 2026 Foster Award Recipient. “We see greatness in our students. We know their potential. They know that we love them and that we care about them. We’re here to tell them you will be successful and we will not let you fall through the cracks here at Highland Park. That’s why we’re here.”
“Every time we honor community voice and choice through the Foster Award, we are reminded of what’s possible when school leaders truly center students and families. Seeing the joy on students’ faces is both uplifting and affirming,” said Yonas Fikak, Vice President of Impact at Alliance for Education. “This year, we are proud to recognize Principal Wheeler and Principal McDaniel for ‘walking the talk’ about equity. Both principals lead with intention and care to support students who have too often been pushed to the margins, underserved or failed by our systems.”
Foster awardees were selected based on colleague and community nominations alongside demonstrating growth in school building level data metrics like equity and antiracism school climate surveys; district college and career readiness goals; and standardized test proficiency in math and English language arts.