The Elma School District announced Thursday that Grays Harbor native Chris Nesmith has been selected as new superintendent, replacing retiring Superintendent Kevin Acuff.

Nesmith is the current Executive Director of Innovation at the West Valley School District in Yakima. He attended North Beach High School in Ocean Shores in his youth.

“Chris brings to our district an incredible career of vision casting that has resulted in countless state and nationally recognized student-centered initiatives and programs,” read a district statement. “Chris has an enthusiastic passion and relentless drive to improve the quality of students’ success, not only during their K-12 experience, but for life.”

The statement said that during the interview process, “Nesmith shared his conviction that the true success of education is not measured with a high school diploma but by what each student goes on to do and become after graduation. He believes successful schools graduate students who thrive as adults, and this starts with a solid educational beginning from the transition into kindergarten all the way through completion of high school graduation.”

Nesmith’s wife Kasey is a current middle school science teacher at West Valley School District. They have two daughters, Quinnlan and Taylor. “The Nesmiths are hopeful to find property and be able to build a home back in Grays Harbor,” said the district statement.