board to board
September - October 2021
News from the Board of NWESD
A Note From Our Superintendent During the last couple months of the 2020-21 school year, I could begin to feel a welcomed easing of the continual stressors and tensions school leaders have faced since the start of the pandemic. Students were back in school, new routines were emerging, the public health situation was improving, and many were looking towards a positive end to the school year, a well-needed summer rejuvenation, and a return to more normal school operations in the fall. Unfortunately, for many across our region those brighter days were short-lived. The emergence of organized opposition to continued mask mandates, accusations of indoctrinating students in something called Critical Race Theory (CRT), and more recently the public health setbacks resulting from the Delta variant and required staff vaccinations have combined to place school leaders in the crosshairs of a pandemic-fueled culture war they didn’t start and don’t control. Opposition to mask and vaccination mandates seem to center primarily around assertions of personal liberty and perceptions of government overreach. For district leaders, their priorities are protecting student and staff safety and being responsible stewards of the public’s resources. Whether an individual board member or superintendent believes mask and vaccination mandates are legally valid or medically necessary, when a district’s legal counsel, insurance carrier, and state regulatory agency all advise adherence to these policies, responsible school leaders can’t ignore such directions. Doing so could leave the district exposed to potential liability claims, forfeited insurance coverage, and loss of state funding. The fiduciary obligation of board members and superintendents does not allow them to take such a risk when the potential consequences of those actions may be borne by the district’s taxpayers. And let’s not forget that the purpose of masks and vaccinations is to protect students and staff from contracting and spreading a virus that has already killed 625,000 Americans and counting. Similarly, CRT has become another flash point of controversy between school leaders and some vocal community opponents. I am not a CRT expert, but I’ve learned enough over recent months to believe that labeling all district equity initiatives as CRT is misguided. From my learning, CRT is the stuff of graduate level academia unfamiliar to the vast majority of K-12 educators. In my experience, districts’ equity work is much less lofty and driven by local circumstances, particularly a district’s data about which students are persistently not experiencing success and opportunity. If a district knows that some group of students (e.g. poverty, special needs, native language, race, homeless) persistently achieve at a lower level than their peers, I believe that educators and district leaders feel a moral obligation to ask why that is and to take steps to narrow those gaps. Further, I believe the taxpaying public should expect that of their schools. That is the equity work I’m familiar with, not indoctrination of students as the oppressed or oppressors or guilty or victimized by the circumstances of their birth. I share these thoughts because I am deeply empathetic to the pressures and criticisms directed at district leaders in recent months. We have so much important work before us as we continue to emerge from the disruptions of a global pandemic that has touched the life of every student, staff member, family, and community across our region, state, nation, and world. Talking over and around each other about mask and vaccination mandates districts don’t control and a supposedly divisive racial indoctrination curriculum districts don’t teach seem like unhelpful Larry Francois sideshows to the priorities of recovery, reconnection, and NWESD Superintendent renewal we should all share. Let’s stay laser focused on the kids who need us now more than ever.
Resignation Announcement Beloved board member Claudia Buxton has announced her resignation from the NWESD Board of Directors effective September 23, 2021. Claudia represented NWESD District 7 (Edmonds and Mukilteo) for seven years. The NWESD staff and board would lke to extend our sincere gratitude to Claudia for her incredible service in public education and to the NWESD board and districts represented. Best wishes Claudia, you will be missed! Claudia Buxton
NWESD Board of Directors District 7
Things to know...
Melissa Hartm
COVID-19 Screening Coo
New district service: Special Education Consortium The NWESD Special Programs and Services Department is excited to announce a NEW service available to districts: our Special Education Consortium allows districts access to a certified behavior specialist on a flexible, as-needed basis. Learn more >> https://bit.ly/3uxzEse
Learn to Return The NWESD is proud to partner with Washington’s ESDs and over 300 school districts to provide regional COVID-19 screening and testing through the state’s Learn to Return program. Through Learn to Return, school-based COVID-19 testing is being offered to minimize transmission of the disease and maximize time for student learning and engagement. learntoreturn.org
Snohomish County Suicide Prevention Task Force
In the news Learn about Snohomish County's newly formed Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force from KING 5 featuring NWESD's Natalie Gustafson Behavioral Health and Prevention Services Assistant Director! King 5 Interview >> bit.ly/3okA8Se Task Force website >>bit.ly/3ohlHhW
New to the NWESD Katie Groth joins the NWESD as a Behavior Support Specialist. In this new position, Katie will be responsible for providing training, support, and developing collaborative relationships with district counselors, teachers, psychologists, and administrators with the intended outcome of increasing the Multi-Tiered System of Support for students. Katie comes to the NWESD with over 15 years of high-level administrative and K-12 experience, as well as serving as Adjunct Professor for the M.Ed. Program at Saint Mary’s University for 10 years.
The proud mother of two sons, Katie’s eldest will be a senior at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and her youngest will be pursuing his American Sign Language (ASL) certification. Katie notes that both of her children had IEPs, (one dyslexia and one Asperger’s) and both have persevered and are doing well at college. A mann true Minnesota sports enthusiast, Katie played hockey in college and enjoys working out, as well as hunting, fishing, & Testing ordinator and skiing. Contact: kgroth@nwesd.org Katie Groth
Behavior Support Specialist
Melissa Hartmann is the new NWESD COVID-19 Screening & Testing Coordinator, a position created in each of Washington’s nine Educational Service Districts, in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH) and the Health Commons project also known as Learn to Return.
Melissa Hartmann
COVID-19 Screening & Testing Coordinator
In this role, Melissa will assist NWESD districts with COVID-19 screening and testing needs with a focus on keeping students in school and addressing any gaps in screening and testing capabilities with the goal of minimizing the spread of COVID-19 and helping districts follow DOH guidelines. Most recently Melissa coordinated the outreach and roll-out of the Maryland health department’s mass vaccination sites. Melissa holds a master’s degree in Public Health and is a National Board-Certified Public Health Professional.
After more than a decade away from the region, Melissa looks forward to living in what she calls, “the most beautiful place in the USA.” When not working or outside, you can find Melissa listening to audio books or podcasts while creating different knitted or crocheted items. Contact: mhartmann@nwesd.org Jenny Veltri has been hired as the NWESD STEM Administrator, which includes the roles of Director of the NW Washington STEM Network and co-lead for the Career Connect Washington NW Regional Network. She will be working in tandem with other regional networks statewide to support STEM initiatives and Career Connected Learning programs in the region by creating learning opportunities and partnering with school districts, colleges, community organizations, and industry. Jenny has spent the past 18 years working in education in project management, career readiness, recruitment, and retention. Most recently serving as the Associate Dean of Instruction at Skagit Valley College, she was the lead on two Career Jenny Veltri Launch Endorsement applications, collaborated on a successful Career Connect WA NWESD STEM Administrator Intermediary grant, and secured $480,000 in Career Launch FTE funding. Other highlights include serving as the Director of SVC’s Title III Strengthening Institutions federal grant activities and working as a Program Manager for the Montana Department of Labor and Industry in the Jobs for Montana’s Graduates program, where she trained faculty on curriculum targeting middle and high school students to develop career plans, mentorship, and soft skills. In her free moments Jenny enjoys spending time with family and friends. Having grown up in a desert climate, she’s amazed by the rich flora and fauna of the Pacific Northwest and can be found exploring with her husband Brock and children Michael (9) and Caroline (7). Contact: jveltri@nwesd.org
Charles Crabtree, District 1 Bellingham, Meridian
Dr. Jack Thompson, District 2 Blaine, Ferndale, Lopez Island, Lynden, Mount Baker, Nooksack Valley, Orcas Island, San Juan Island, Shaw Island Mark Venn, District 3 Anacortes, Burlington-Edison, Concrete, Conway, Darrington, La Conner, Mount Vernon, Sedro-Woolley Oscar Escalante, District 4 Coupeville, Lakewood, Mukilteo, Oak Harbor, South Whidbey, Stanwood-Camano
Educational Service Districts have served Washington State for almost fifty years, providing vital services and functioning as advocates for local districts. Northwest Educational Service District 189 (NWESD) serves Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, Island, and San Juan counties. NWESD’s more than fifty programs are organized into seven departments to serve you: Administration, Early Learning, Fiscal Services, Prevention Center, Special Programs and Services, Teaching and Learning, and Technology Services. Please visit us on our website at nwesd.org for more information on each of these departments.
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Dr. Alan Erickson, District 5 Everett
Cory Duskin, District 6 Arlington, Granite Falls, Index, Marysville, Sultan
Power of Providers
Vacant, District 7 Edmonds, Mukilteo
Sue Phillips, District 8 Edmonds, Mukilteo
Merle Kirkley, District 9 Lake Stevens, Monroe, Snohomish
Learn more >> CovidVaccineWA.org