After wrapping up the first year of leading a team in science-based education, Sartori Elementary School’s principal is receiving recognition from her alma mater.

Angela Sheffey-Bogan is being recognized as the 2019 Distinguished Alumna for Highline College.

Bogan was chosen because of her notable contributions to her profession, commitment to equity and changing the instructional model for elementary school, according to a press release from Highline College.

Bogan graduated Highline College in 1991 with an associates degree.

“I was not ready for a four-year college experience, but I knew not attending college was not an option in my house,” she stated in a press release. “I appreciate the rigor and independence Highline offered me.”

She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree at Western Washington University, and a master’s in teaching at Heritage University.

Bogan has spent over 20 years in elementary education. She started as a paraprofessional in South Seattle. Once she had her principal certifications, she went onto head teacher then principal at Dearborn Elementary School. She guided the school to a dual-language international school, adding Spanish and Mandarin.

This was a dream of Bogan’s, according to the press release. She worked with her staff to transform an “OK school” in her words, to a school that celebrated the diverse international population of South Seattle’s Beacon Hill and Rainier Valley.

In 2017, Bogan was named founding principal of Sartori, the Renton School District’s first option school with a focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) that opened fall 2018.

In a previous interview with the Renton Reporter, Bogan said with her position at Sartori she gets to focus on instruction and learning with other staff, instead of the day-to-day.

A Highline employee, with two children at Sartori, stated in the press release that Bogan demonstrates a commitment to the guiding principles of Highline, namely diversity, social justice and equity. The employee stated that the school motto also demonstrates the question, “how do you show up in your community?”

The “how do you show up in your community” concept appears in everything they do at Sartori, Bogan said. Each student brings their own gifts, so they need to know they can share their interests and how they learn.

Bogan is the 31st recipient of the college’s annual award, which started in 1990 with former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice.

Bogan will be honored at the college’s commencement ceremony on June 13 at the ShoWare Center in Kent.