Education Northwest observed its 44th anniversary on June 24, celebrating another year of supporting educational improvement efforts throughout the region and beyond. Board Chair Jerry Colonna, superintendent of the Beaverton (OR) School District, thanked staff members for their hard work, and mentioned some of the past year’s accomplishments:

• REL Northwest led the first research study collaboration among Regional Educational Laboratories which resulted in a nationally recognized analysis of achievement gap patterns among American Indian/Alaska Natives in 26 states.
• Our Region X Equity Assistance Center—which works to ensure equal access to highly qualified teachers, particularly for students who are disadvantaged or are racial or ethnic minorities—marked its 30-year anniversary by winning a new three-year contract.
• The Oregon Department of Education awarded Education Northwest the contract to continue the work of the Oregon Leadership Network which promotes leadership and equity in 28 school districts that serve more than half of Oregon’s students.
• Under the leadership of deputy director Steve Fleischman, Education Northwest is providing communications expertise for a national study of school turnaround. The American Institutes for Research is funding this important five-year study.
• Our national institute on small learning communities and small schools, From Structure to Instruction, sold out for its third consecutive year—thus providing tools and strategies for redesigning high schools to leadership teams from across the country.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Jerry Kirkpatrick Award for Special Achievement, which went to Nancy Henry of the Volunteer Leadership Center. CEO Carol Thomas recalled that Henry was hired in 1995 as a writer, advancing through the ranks to become director of the largest program at Education Northwest. Since 2008, Henry has managed $8 million in grants and contracts from programs such as VISTA, AmeriCorps, and LEARNS. Thanks to the Recovery Act, Henry and her team trained and provided distance learning support to an additional 3,400 VISTA volunteers to build capacity in low-income communities affected by the economic downturn. This makes the total participants they touched this year over 9,000 people.

Staff member Sammy Johnson was also honored for 25 years of service to the organization.

Details about the region we serve and the work we performed this past year are in our 2009 annual report.