By Annika Hauer, For the Reporter

Reid Sarris, who has lived in Renton since 2020, will be in the running for Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2024. He is the founder of Equal Opportunity Schools, and the author of “The Kid Across the Hall: The Fight for Opportunity in Our Schools.”

He founded Equal Opportunity Schools out of Seattle in 2007. Now a national non-profit, Equal Opportunity Schools works with school districts across the nation to make sure students of color and students of lower income can access Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) classes.

“I’m very passionate about making sure the best of what our schools have to offer is something that everyone can access,” said Sarris.

Sarris has lived with his family in Renton since 2020, and on Sept. 6, started teaching 12th graders at Rainier Beach High School.

“We’re definitely in a more diverse area than we were before, and appreciate that very much,” he said. “I think my school time was not nearly as diverse and rich, and that’s part of what drew us here.”

“What’s motivated my whole career is seeing the great work that our schools do and the incredible things that education can do,” said Sarris, “and then also seeing how it’s often not reaching students of all backgrounds.”

Sarris was born and raised in Bellevue and graduated from Interlake High School before earning a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a master’s in education from Stanford University.

Sarris announced his candidacy on Aug. 16 and will be running against incumbent Chris Reykdal. Both candidates will be on the ballot in November 2024.