Education Leaders From University Place and Everett Receive Most Effective Administrator Awards

University Place School District Superintendent Patti Banks and Everett Public Schools Executive Director of Curriculum Alignment and Implementation Terry Edwards receive awards in the large-size district category.

Olympia, Washington – Today, the Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA) and PEMCO Insurance recognized Superintendent Patti Banks, University Place School District, and Executive Director Terry Edwards, Curriculum Alignment and Implementation, Everett Public Schools, as recipients of a 2008 Robert J. Handy Most Effective Administrator Award.

PEMCO Insurance presented the awards in the large school district category to Ms. Banks and Mr. Edwards in Chelan at WASA’s Annual Superintendent Workshop. The other recipient–Morgen Owings Elementary School Principal Jeff Peck, Lake Chelan School District, for mid-sized districts–was recognized in March at WASA’s Small Schools Conference in Yakima.

Three awards are presented each year based on district-size categories, with a $10,000 award equally divided by the winners. Approximately one-third of Washington’s school districts are represented in each category. The award can be used for personal or professional growth and/or to support and disseminate information about a successful school or district program. A committee composed of representatives from five educational organizations selects the winners from nominations that detail how each nominee is taking part in actualizing the nine characteristics of high performing schools/districts as defined by research from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

“I'm honored to be selected as a recipient of this award. There are too few awards to go around to recognize the hard work, commitment, and sheer persistence of my professional colleagues from whom I have learned so much over the years,” commented University Place School District Superintendent Patti Banks upon learning of the award. “I am proud of the significant student achievement gains in my district, but cannot take credit for them. Instead, that credit belongs to a strong, student centered, and supportive board of directors; an exceptionally focused and talented administrative team; an extraordinary teaching and support staff; and a community that cares deeply about its schools. So it's my honor to thank you on their behalf.”

Ms. Banks’ nomination acknowledged her vision, leadership, and communication skills, which have inspired administrators, teachers, students, community members, and the school board to work as one. “She has engaged the entire district school community in supporting and actively carrying out the district vision of improved student achievement with a common and research-based learning focus that is shared at the primary, intermediate, and secondary levels,” cited the nomination. It also stated that she articulates a clear district-wide vision of learning improvement goals and leads buildings administrators in establishing non-negotiable instructional strategies that are supported by research.

Everett Public Schools Executive Director of Curriculum Alignment and Implementation Terry Edwards also received the award in the large-size district category. His nomination stated that Edwards “is the chief strategist behind Everett Public Schools’ mission of each student learning to high standards and graduating on time;” and his “brilliance is in his ability to see and enact the parts that must be in place in specific sequence, so district instruction and operation impact each student’s learning positively.” 

In response to receiving the award, Mr. Edwards remarked, “I am honored to have been selected as a 2008 Handy Award recipient. An award like this is really not an individual honor but a reflection of the team of administrators, teachers, and educational staff that I have had the opportunity to work with. I have been very fortunate to have the opportunity to work in a great school district with a supportive board, an exemplary superintendent, and outstanding colleagues. I would like to thank PEMCO, WASA, and most of all friends and colleagues within Everett Public Schools."

In its seventh year, the Robert J. Handy Most Effective Administrator Awards seek to recognize outstanding public school administrators in Washington State. Robert J. Handy, the awards’ namesake, founded the PEMCO Life Insurance Company. Handy was a Seattle schoolteacher during the Great Depression whose vision of providing low-cost loans to schoolteachers grew into what is now the School Employees Credit Union of Washington.

The Washington Association of School Administrators is a statewide professional association representing nearly 1,100 members including superintendents, central office administrators, and building principals.