Northwest Regional Education Service District
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Our dream for every child
Our dream is that every child in our region, particularly those historically marginalized or experiencing disability, feels a sense of belonging, gets a strong early start, meets high expectations for academic achievement, and is prepared for career, college and lifelong learning.
Current reporting status: Baselines and 2030 targets are shown below. New progress results will be added as they become available.
How We Developed This Plan
In fall 2025, we began developing our 2026–30 Strategic Plan. A 20-member Strategic Plan Design Team, representing a variety of roles and job classifications from around our agency, led the work.
Our goal was to create a bold, thoughtful roadmap that will guide our direction, priorities, and investments over the next several years.
Rooted in our shared vision—Every student educated, equipped and inspired to achieve their full potential and enrich their communities—this plan turns our aspirations into action. It reflects the heart of our work and our commitment to our values of student success, equity, partnership, and innovative service.
We recognize that not every priority could be included in a single strategic plan, and that was intentional. The performance measures selected represent the areas where we believe NWRESD can make the greatest impact. We are grateful to the thousands of students, educators, families, district and school leaders, and program partners whose voices helped identify the priorities and performance measures that matter most.
As we begin implementing this plan, each department will develop action plans aligned with these strategic priorities and performance measures. We will provide regular progress updates to our Board of Directors and update this page as new data become available.
2026–30 Strategic Plan Design Team
Design Team Members
- Erick Arizpe - Administrative Assistant
- Josh Coles - Special Education Teacher
- Catherine Dalbey - Chief Human Resources Officer
- Kevanna Doolittle - Career and College Project Management Specialist
- Lori Ann Dyer - Speech Language Pathologist
- Tracey Goldner - Manager 2, Communications
- Carlos Tenorio Hughes - Spanish Langugage Translator
- Cathy Jensen - Executive Director of Special Education
- Freya Lewis - Support Technician 2
- Sharif Liwaru - Senior Director of Equity and Family Partnerships
- Samya Matouk - Instructional Coach, Instructional Services
- Tina Meier-Nowell - Special Education Coordinator
- Rikkie Schley - Early Learning Coordinator
- Jennifer South - Assistive Technology Specialist
- Tera VanDyke - Director of Finance
Facilitators and Planners
- Brian Bain - Senior Director, Research, Evaluation and Assessment
- Ryan Blasquez - Director of Instructional Services
- Jessica Culbertson - Assessment and Data Information Specialist
- Dan Goldman - Superintentendent
- Megan Logan - Chief Academic Officer
Belonging Strengthen systems where every learner belongs and thrives 3 measures
How we will make progress
Every student in our region, particularly those historically marginalized or experiencing disability, will feel a sense of belonging, attend, and succeed when we:
- Expand capacity for antiracist leadership and action.
- Employ and retain a high-performing and diverse regional educator workforce.
- Create equitable learning environments that welcome, value, and support every single child.
- Build culturally responsive partnerships with students, families, and communities.
Students have an adult at school who really cares
Baseline establishedAbout this measure
Source: Student Health Survey
Definition: The percentage of students in Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook and Washington counties who agree or strongly agree with the statement “There is at least one teacher or other adult in my school that really cares about me.”
Students attend more than 90% of the school year
Baseline establishedAbout this measure
Source: Oregon Department of Education Attenders Report
Definition: The percentage of students in NWRESD's 20 component school districts who attend more than 90% of their enrolled school days.
Educators retained
Baseline establishedAbout this measure
Source: Oregon Department of Education Staff Positions
Definition: The percentage of teaching staff who returned to employment in the same school district from the previous school year.
Read: School Attendance is a Family Affair
Read: No New Educator Should Go It Alone: Mentors Take Educators From Surviving to Thriving
Learn: Join our yearlong B.A.S.E.S collaborative; Join our yearlong mentoring program
Strong Early Start Nurture our youngest learners 2 measures
How we will make progress
Children under five in our region, particularly those historically marginalized or experiencing disability, will have a strong foundation when we:
- Seek out and evaluate all children who may be eligible for early intervention or special education services.
- Strengthen the capacity of families, partners, and early childhood educators to increase children’s social-emotional and early academic growth.
- Equip early childhood educators to create inclusive early learning environments where every child belongs and learns.
- Facilitate seamless transitions to kindergarten, especially for students experiencing developmental delays.
Children ages 3–5 who substantially increase social and emotional skills before kindergarten
Baseline establishedAbout this measure
Source: ECWeb AEPS Scores
Definition: The percentage of children in the region ages three to entering kindergarten who entered the program below age expectations in positive social-emotional skills and who substantially increased their rate of growth by the time they exited the program.
Children ages 0–5 referred and evaluated for early intervention or special education
Baseline establishedAbout this measure
Source: ECWeb Monthly Report for Region 8
Definition: The number of babies, toddlers and preschoolers evaluated for Early Intervention or Early Childhood Special Education services in the 12 months beginning in September and ending in August.
Explore More About This Work
Read: ‘It Makes Me Feel So Proud To See Him’
Read: Holiday Gathering Planned by Parents for Parents Draws Crowd
Learn: Visit our Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education webpage
Academic Achievement Advance academic excellence 3 measures
How we will make progress
Every student in our region, particularly those historically marginalized or experiencing disability, will meet high expectations for academic achievement when we equip, train, and support educators to:
- Implement data-driven multitiered systems of support (MTSS) with fidelity across all learning environments.
- Learn, grow and improve in their first years of professional practice.
- Explicitly and systematically teach the science of reading.
- Effectively teach mathematics concepts, procedural fluency and application skills.
- Implement effective practices to ensure all ninth graders are on track to graduate within four years.
Third graders reading on grade level
Baseline establishedAbout this measure
Source: Oregon Department of Education English language arts reports
Definition: The percentage of 3rd grade students in the NWRESD 20 component school districts who achieve a 3 or 4 on the Oregon State Assessment System’s English Language Arts assessment.
Eighth graders meeting mathematics standards
Baseline establishedAbout this measure
Source: Oregon Department of Education math reports
Definition: The percentage of 8th grade students in the NWRESD 20 component school districts who achieved a 3 or 4 on the Oregon State Assessment System's math assessment.
Ninth graders on track to graduate on time
Baseline establishedAbout this measure
Source: Oregon Department of Education 9th grade on track reports full academic year
Definition: The percentage of 9th grade students in the NWRESD 20 component school districts who acquire one-quarter of their required high school credits by the start of their 10th grade year.
Explore More About This Work
Read: Becoming a Great Reader Doesn’t Happen By Accident
Read: Far Too Many Students Lag in Reading: Here’s What We’re Doing About It
Read: The Make-or-Break Year: What Happens When Schools Rethink Ninth Grade?
Read: Freshman Year Isn’t What It Used to Be — That’s a Good Thing
Learn: Attend our early literacy supports workshops; Join our 9th Grade Success Network
Career & College Prepare students for fulfilling careers 4 measures
How we will make progress
Every student in our region, particularly those historically marginalized or experiencing disability, will be prepared for career, college and lifelong learning when we:
- Expand access to meaningful and relevant experiential learning opportunities.
- Strengthen career exploration systems that help students understand the world of work and identify their future interests.
- Increase opportunities for students to access high-wage, high-demand career learning and industry-recognized credentials.
- Expand access to purposeful and highly transferable college credits.
High school students graduating in four years
Baseline establishedAbout this measure
Source: Oregon Department of Education cohort graduation rates
Definition: The percentage of high school students in NWRESD's 20 component school districts who graduate with a diploma within 4 years of first entering high school.
Career connected learning hours provided annually
Baseline establishedAbout this measure
Source: NWRESD's college and career team
Definition: The cumulative hours of career connected learning activities provided by NWRESD to students in the region.
Graduating seniors with two or more credits in a CTE pathway
Baseline establishedAbout this measure
Source: Oregon Department of Education cohort graduation report
Definition: The percentage of students in the graduating cohort of students who have obtained at least 2 high school credits in a single Perkin’s-funded career and technical education pathway.
High school students enrolled in at least one college-credit-eligible course
Baseline establishedAbout this measure
Source: Synergy
Definition: Percentage of high school students enrolled in one or more dual credit courses as identified in Synergy.
Explore More About This Work
Watch: Meet the students scaling trees, splitting logs and milling lumber in a forestry class at Clatskanie Middle/High School (View more district spotlight videos)
Read: Agriculture and Construction Programs Engage Students at Jewell
Learn: Visit our school performance and workforce development webpage
Mobilize Resources Mobilize strategic resources 4 measures
How we will make progress
We will be successful in our pursuit of this plan when we:
- Co-design services in partnership with our region’s school districts and partners.
- Systematically measure the alignment, engagement and impact of ESD programs on component school districts’ performance.
- Strengthen and maintain secure and reliable internet connectivity across the region.
- Take a human-centered approach to conducting operations and advancing new technologies.
- Identify facility requirements for expanding career-based and social-emotional learning programs.
- Responsibly expand and steward strategic fiscal resources to catalyze and sustain the commitments in this strategic plan.
District leaders satisfied with district services
Baseline establishedAbout this measure
Source: District survey
Definition: Percentage of superintendents, chief financial officers, special education directors, curriculum and instruction directors, chief human resources officers and chief information officers from NWRESD's 20 component districts who report being satisfied with NWRESD services on an annual district survey.
NWRESD departments using the client relationship management software
Baseline establishedAbout this measure
Source: Balcony client relationship management system
Definition: Percentage of staff from departments including chief academic officer, communications, early learning, equity and family partnerships, fiscal services, human resources, instructional services, K-12 special education, research, data and assessment, school performance and workforce development, social emotional learning schools and technology who report using NWRESD's new client relationship management software system.
Component school districts with more than one internet connection
Baseline establishedAbout this measure
Source: Cascade Technology Alliance
Definition: Percentage of NWRESD's 20 component districts that have more than one internet connection.
Projected general fund revenues held in reserve
Baseline establishedAbout this measure
Source: Fiscal Services
Definition: Percentage of general fund revenue held in reserve.
Explore More About This Work
Read: Why Your Kid’s School Just Got a Game-Changing Internet Upgrade
Read: View our 2026-27 Adopted Budget and learn about how we build our budget
Learn: View all of the services our agency provides
Learn: Visit our Cascade Technology Alliance webpage
Last updated: August 2026