Rikkie Schley, an administrator and speech-language pathologist with nearly 15 years of experience in special education and rehabilitation services, has been selected to become an early learning director. 

This is a new position for Northwest Regional Education Service District, and she and fellow Early Learning Director Jennifer Vanderschuere will collaborate closely. Her first day will be July 1. 

The purpose of the role is to provide more consistent and cohesive services to the 2,500 babies, toddlers and preschoolers who receive early intervention and early childhood special education services from our agency.

“When we’re coordinated, children and families win,” says Stacy Rager, executive director of early learning. “This is complex work that demands a special blend of technical know-how, perseverance and the ability to work across teams to move complex efforts forward."

Originally trained as a speech-language pathologist, Rikkie has a decade of experience with us evaluating babies and toddlers and delivering early intervention services, the program that provides special education to children from birth to age 3. She first got involved with early intervention following her time as a parent of a child receiving these services. 

In 2022, Rikkie became an administrator -- first working as an assistant principal at the Beaverton Early Childhood Center -- and later overseeing early intervention. 

“I value clear communication, strong relationships and creating environments where staff feel supported to do this incredibly important and meaningful work,” she says. “I care deeply about making sure kids and families feel supported and connected to the opportunities they deserve.” 

An experienced early intervention leader and systems-thinker, Rikkie has:

• Supervised a team of 30 early intervention providers, including speech-language pathologists, teachers, occupational therapists and physical therapists. This group provides services to an estimated 500 babies and toddlers each year in Washington County.
• Partnered with operational leaders to create a data-informed staffing system to ensure staff workloads are evenly distributed and manageable.
• Designed and delivered multi-county professional learning to nearly 200 educators so that all service providers feel more equipped to provide high-quality services to children.
• Developed a cohort-style mentorship program to support first-year speech-language pathologists during their clinical fellowship. This program was designed to connect and support new SLPs and build a sense of community for them as they joined a profession that is vital to the success of our programs.  

Rikkie holds an administrative principal’s license from George Fox University and a master’s degree in communication disorders from the University of Oregon. She is currently working toward earning a doctorate in education and a professional administrator’s license, also from George Fox. In her free time, she enjoys reading, renovating her house, going to car shows with her dad and spending time with her husband and three sons.