ESD 112 rang in the 2019-20 school year on Friday, September 6, with an all-staff meeting at the Conference Center.

Board president Ann Campbell kicked off the meeting

Board of directors president Ann Campbell kicked off the meeting with a heartfelt welcome, followed by remarks from Mark Ross, Superintendent of Battle Ground School District and Chair of the Regional Superintendents’ Group.

Retired Evergreen Public Schools Superintendent John Deeder talked about the impact that ESDs make on kids

Former Superintendent for Evergreen Public Schools John Deeder gave a keynote address, providing some insight into his long career and background in education. His talk was inspiring and a powerful reminder of the incredible impact ESD 112 makes on thousands of kids’ and their families’ lives every single day in Southwest Washington.

Tim shared the most recent property purchase the ESD has made–a transportation center that will house ESD buses

Tim provided his own update and shared some of his goals for the ESD for the coming year. Some of those goals included:

  • Increasing the number of ECEAP slots
  • Assisting districts in developing their own legislative platforms
  • Increasing communications support for internal programs
  • Enriching the ESD 112 benefit program

Robert Bailey (left) and Hunter Olin (center) spoke about STEPS with program director Janette Foreman (right)

The highlight of the afternoon came when Hunter Olin and Robert Bailey got up to speak. The two are STEPS program participants, with Hunter having recently graduated and Robert working on his third and final year of the program. They both shared many of their experiences as STEPS students and spoke very highly of the program, leaving everyone in the room feeling inspired and proud of the work ESD 112 is doing in our communities every day.

The meeting wrapped up with presentations from Tracy Collins of the ESD 112 Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Committee and Debbie Ham, Executive Director of SELF. Debbie invited ESD employees to make contributions to the Give More 24! campaign, a day of giving benefitting nonprofits in Southwest Washington on September 19.

Thank you to everyone who attended this year’s back-to-school kickoff meeting. Have a wonderful 2019-20 school year!