NCESD Board Attends AESD Annual Conference

Published On: May 11th, 2023|Categories: News|
NCESD Board Attends AESD Annual Conference

The NCESD Board of Directors commits to being learners together and attend regular professional development. The Washington Association of Educational Service Districts (AESD) Annual Conference is a unique opportunity for the NCESD board to connect with their peers from other ESDs across the state.

The 2023 Conference, co-hosted by ESD 113 and Puget Sound ESD in Renton,
focused on the AESD’s efforts to center student voices within the education system to best serve all students and schools statewide.

The three-day event included presentations from Benjie Howard and Wade Antonio Colwell from the Youth Equity Stewardship, Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, Dr. Shakti Butler from World Trust, and Joan Wade the Executive Director for the Association of Educational Service Agencies.

NCESD Board of Directors and Staff during the 2023 AESD Annual Conference

Throughout the conference, ESD boards from across the state were given updates on the AESD “redesign process” which created the “Association” and the “Network” within the AESD. We wrote about this process in December 2022 – you can read that blog post here!

AESD President Marcia Henkle provides an overview of the organization alongside Network Executive Director Jessica Vavrus.

During the President’s Reception, AESD President Marcia Henkle invites ESD Board Presidents to the stage.

NCESD Board Member Larry MacGuffie talks about the progress AESD has achieved in the past 10+ years.

NCESD Past President, Marcia Henkle, serves on the AESD Executive Board as the President. During the President’s Reception, on Wednesday, Marcia took time to recognize her fellow NCESD board member, Larry MacGuffie who served as the AESD president in 2011 and was on the AESD board in 2008 when they began the process of creating the Network.

“In 2011, we were just getting started with the Network, and look where it is today,” MacGuffie said to the group. “I am so proud of everything that this group – with the leadership of the AESD executive board – has accomplished in a 10-year period. It is just amazing.”

About the Washington Association of Educational Service Districts

Each of Washington’s nine Educational Service Districts (ESDs) provides essential local services, responsive to their region’s communities. Together, they form a network that leverages each other’s strengths, and supports all students and schools statewide. You can learn more about the AESD on their website at www.waesd.org

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