President-elect Candidate Ted Thomas

Ted Thomas has been a member of the Longview School Board for nine years. He has served as Board President and Vice President, and at present serves as the Legislative Representative. Thomas is currently Vice President of WSSDA and member of the WSSDA Finance Subcommittee. Other WSSDA service includes Legislative Committee (as Chair, Vice Chair and Board Liaison), Urban Issues Committee and Federal Relations Network. He is team leader for presentations to the 3rd Congressional Representative and member of the School Nutrition Association and the Longview Early Edition Rotary. Thomas also participates in a group that builds small community schools in Vietnam.

Candidate Statement:

Engagement, passion and a willingness to serve others are the cornerstones of my commitment to public education and community service. Embracing the opportunities of these past nine years to serve on various committees of the Washington State School Directors’ Association and as association Vice President, I now ask for your support to serve as President-elect for WSSDA.

A husband and a father of two wonderful girls, I was first elected to the Longview School Board in 1997. A lifelong learner, I have a varied vocational history that includes a successful career as a process electrician in the paper industry. More recently, I bridged this experience into my current responsibility as a regional account manager for commercial packaging. Along the way, I also spent time as a part-time college instructor, a labor relations representative and financial trustee.

Beginning with my first WSSDA conference, I have continuously sought opportunities to engage in education advocacy and understand the various aspects of boardsmanship. First developing skills through the Passport to Leadership program, I applied my learning to various leadership roles on my local board. Later, serving through WSSDA, I was appointed to the Urban Issues Committee in 1998, and in 1999 was elected to the Legislative Committee. Extending my commitment of service, both of these experiences provided opportunities to learn and grow as a board member and an advocate.

Continuing in my WSSDA service, I was privileged and honored by Legislative Committee members to
be elected three times as the Legislative Committee Chair from 2002 to 2005. A rewarding opportunity, my time on the Legislative Committee provided me invaluable leadership experience and a broadened understanding of regional education issues.

Finally, this last year has been a time of change for me as I began my service as WSSDA Vice President. In establishing new connections and integrating past experiences, I have learned much in my new role and am grateful for the opportunity to have served. The time was well spent as I kept close to the educational happenings of Washington Learns and worked to increase association awareness on the contemporary issue of performance audits.

In looking to the future of public education and our association, there is approaching fast the confluence of issues related to WASL, No Child Left Behind, Washington Learns, 2008 graduation requirements, and the prospects of performance audits. Taken together, it is obvious there is much to be done. Student achievement for all students remains our overarching goal as school directors; for our association, it is our focused ability to bring both the knowledge-based resources of leadership and advocacy training that will enable each of us to find success. In running for President-elect, I bring with me a value for guarding well the democratic values of our membership and a vision of collaboration, focused continuous improvement, and the continuing integration of ideals that support success for all our students.

On a personal basis, I am willing and ready to meet the demands of serving the association, and I believe my ongoing passion for advocacy and legislative affairs provides a strong opportunity to best represent the needs of the association and to seek out the partnership to improve opportunities for all students. My commitment is to building a collaborative team with both the board and the staff, that together we will be innovative and agile in meeting the needs of the membership in an educational environment that is ever-changing. I thank each of you for your service and I am humbled by the opportunity to serve on your behalf. I ask for your support to be President-elect.