After seven school districts in our region endured work stoppages at the start of the school year, the strikes have all been settled. Those strikes impacted our early learning centers, transportation and ESD school programs. We’re happy all districts are back in school and ready for a successful year. Tim, Loy and two ESD board members are traveling to Washington D.C. this week to visit with our Southwest Washington congressional delegation. You can read a brief here that outlines many of our legislative priorities and provides information about our programs. We had our first Regional Superintendent’s Meeting of the year last week. These meetings provide a great opportunity to network, learn from others and talk about state, regional and district challenges. We shared a booklet with our superintendents at the meeting called Stronger Together. Our facilities team is working hard around [...]

PLANNING FOR…As you are likely following in the media, many of our districts have not yet settled their bargaining agreements for the 2018-2019 school year. While we are hoping for positive outcomes, it is likely some districts may not reach agreement before the schedule opening day of school. Our Early Care and Education staff have been working diligently to ensure a solid plan is place to care for children enrolled in our SWCCC Centers. This is a huge undertaking – kudos to ECE managers and staff for their prep work! COMING UP…Superintendent Merlino and Loy Dale are busy preparing for their annual visit to Washington D.C. to attend the AESA Call to Action Conference and meet with the Congressional delegation from Washington state. They will take forward important initiatives that represent our STEM work, Early Care and Education, Threat Assessment [...]