Special to the Reporter
Mercer Island resident Maggie Tai Tucker has filed to run for re-election for Mercer Island School Board director position No. 3, which she has occupied since 2019.
“Our school district has weathered a lot the last few years, between the pandemic, a major leadership transition, and the financial challenges brought on by decreasing enrollment nationwide. We have emerged from these experiences as a stronger team. With the loss of two of my colleagues and their collective years of experience on the board, continuity will be very important,” Tucker said in a statement, referring to board directors David D’Souza and Tam Dinh, who do not plan to run for re-election. “I believe that I have served the voters of this district well over the last four years and that I can continue to do so.”
As a pediatric occupational therapist and now, social worker, Tucker is acutely aware of the importance of mental health support for our district’s children, even more so in the wake of the pandemic. (In 2021, Tucker began a masters in social work at Fordham University, and has interned as a school social worker in two Bellevue elementary schools for the last nine months.)
Tucker is also committed to ensuring that all students have access to the most challenging and appropriate curriculum for their needs. She has advocated for increasing math and science offerings at the high school, as well as for expanding the range of academic pathways students can take through Mercer Island High School (MIHS). Tucker, who has undergraduate degrees from Harvard University and the University of Washington, is a mother of three — two 2022 MIHS graduates and a fourth-grader.
Tucker’s bid for re-election is already being supported by more than 100 Mercer Islanders, including four city council members and both of the Island’s state representatives.
“Maggie Tai is intelligent, curious, caring, compassionate, articulate, resilient, experienced, and empathetic. We are so lucky to have her doing what she does in our community, in particular her work and leadership on the school board. I am grateful that she is running for another term,” commented city councilmember Wendy Weiker.
In her first term, Tucker served as a board officer for three years — vice president and then president. In these roles, she helped to steer the board through the early stages of the pandemic. Following former superintendent Donna Colosky’s announcement of her retirement, Tucker (as board president) ran a nationwide search to find superintendent candidates for the board to consider. In the end, the board unanimously selected Dr. Fred Rundle as superintendent. Tucker has also served as board liaison to the PTA’s DEI committee and on the Superintendent’s Equity Advisory Committee.
In addition to her numerous volunteer activities on the Island, Tucker has been a therapy dog handler for more than two decades, visiting spinal cord injury patients, retirement home residents, and hospice patients. Since 2019, she has volunteered with HOPE Animal Assisted Crisis Response, which coordinates with law enforcement and other organizations to provide support from specially trained crisis response dogs following tragedies and disasters.
Mercer Island parent Tammy Heydon said she has been impressed with Tucker’s performance in her board role. “Maggie Tai is thoughtful, logical, and thorough. She takes the time to research an issue, hear all sides, and come up with a reasonable response that is for the betterment of the whole community,” Heydon commented.
