Now just shy of two months into her one-year gig as Vashon Island School District’s interim superintendent, Dr. Jo Moccia will soon reach the milestone of welcoming staff and students to the first day of school on Sept. 2.

Moccia was hired by the school board in mid-June to serve in the post throughout the 2025-26 school year as the board conducts a formal search to replace former superintendent Slade McSheehy, who left Vashon in June to helm the Bremerton School District.

She arrived in the district on July 1.

Moccia brings decades of relevant experience to the role and recently retired from a 14-year tenure as the superintendent of South Whidbey Island School District — a district not unlike Vashon’s in terms of its size, number of schools and demographics.

Still, in an interview on

See Full Page