Half the room stood to their feet and erupted in applause Oct. 12 at Benson Hill Elementary School. The school board had just voted 4-0, with one abstention, to name Assistant Superintendent of Learning and Teaching Damien Pattenaude as the next superintendent for the Renton School District.

Pattenaude’s wife and two children sat in the back row, brimming with excitement. As Pattenaude took his place at the podium to address the board, thank them for the opportunity and to promise them that this was not a responsibility he takes lightly, the weight of his new role slowly hit him.

He compared that moment to the birth of his daughter.

“You can know that the baby is going to come but until the baby comes, it doesn’t hit you,” Pattenaude said. “At the hospital, I remember getting hot and it hitting me that wow, I have to take care of this little baby and take her home. It’s not quite exactly the same, but similar in the awesome responsibility. That’s what hit me at the board meeting.”

Pattenaude will take over for Interim Superintendent Art Jarvis, who was appointed to the position following the unexpected resignation of Merri Reiger in May 2015. In October, the board voted to keep Jarvis on through the current school year as they took time to find a permanent replacement.

“We had a real unique opportunity to take advantage of somebody who is from Renton, from our district,” said board member Pam Teal at the meeting. “[Pattenaude is] so respected and valued in the community. This was the right thing to do. From a taxpayer’s perspective, a national or state-wide search takes money. It’s money we could be giving to our kids. I couldn’t be more pleased with this selection.”

The Renton-bred Pattenaude has deep connections to the community, as well as the school district. Most of his family attended school in the district, including his uncle and School Board President Al Talley who abstained from voting at the meeting due to the familial connection. Pattenaude grew up in the West Hill/Skyway neighborhood, and attended Campbell Hill Elementary School, Nelsen Middle School and Renton High School (RHS).

In high school, Pattenaude said he was torn between pursuing journalism and education but after an internship at a newspaper, he learned he “rather be someone who’s out doing something,” rather than “writing about people doing things.”

Pattenaude attended Washington State University where he earned his bachelor and master’s degree, and recently earned his doctorate degree from there. He started his education career at Kent School District, but quickly found himself at Renton High School. After a few years at Hazen High School as assistant principal, Pattenaude once again made it back to RHS, this time as principal.

“It was the most meaningful work that I have ever done,” said Pattenaude on serving as principal. “Having the opportunity to go back to your high school… there was something different about being back at your alma mater. It didn’t change how I worked, but there was this feeling and strong bond that you don’t always have with another school.

“As a principal, you’re more removed [from the classroom],” he added. “It was important to develop those relationships with students by being visible but also being clear what your expectations were. My mantra for students was that it’s not that you’re graduating from RHS — you’re graduating to something else.”

Pattenaude then moved to the district office as chief academic officer and was named assistant superintendent on July 2015.

Working at the district office left him with less time to have face-to-face interactions with students.

“You don’t have the level of involvement with students [at the district office],” he said. “The relationship piece isn’t there. My heartstrings got pulled a little bit this last year because the seniors who graduated from RHS were the last group who was there when I was principal. Now going into RHS, I’m just another adult coming, just another person.”

As superintendent, he hopes to engage directly with students and actively listen to their experiences and opinions.

“As a superintendent or district officer, you have to figure out how to listen to student voices so that you can understand what decisions are being made and the impacts it has on the students and their perspective,” Pattenaude said. “That’s one thing I’ll be definitely committed to, is how I do outreach and listen to student voices along with our staff voices and community voices.

“As a parent in the district, I could care less about the superintendent of the district. The most important relationships for students are at the school level, with the teachers and the staff who are there. So as superintendent, I can support that and that’s the greatest work I can do.”

Pattenaude will continue as assistant superintendent for the remainder of the school year, and will begin his role as superintendent starting July 1, 2017.