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West Valley School District's Peter Finch Awarded Scholarship for Administrative Leadership in Education

OLYMPIA, Washington – Peter Finch, assistant superintendent of West Valley School District in Yakima, is the recipient of the second Dr. Doyle E. Winter Scholarship for Administrative Leadership in Education. The scholarship is awarded by the Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA) and Seattle-Northwest Securities Corporation (SNW). SNW Vice President Jon Gores presented the award to Mr. Finch at today’s WASA Awards Luncheon in Spokane. The luncheon was part of the annual AWSP/WASA Summer Conference for school administrators, which is jointly sponsored by WASA and the Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP). The conference began on Sunday and runs through Tuesday, June 29.

The selection committee cited Peter Finch’s strong student focus and goal of becoming a superintendent who supports an educational environment where the culture is such that “all staff members contribute to the common purpose of continuous improvement.” “All educators must break down the barriers,” said Mr. Finch “so we can learn from each other and support each other as we strive to ensure success for all students.”

Upon learning of his selection, Mr. Finch commented, “Doyle Winter has been a mentor and a role model for every school administrator in Washington State. I hope to continue his work to provide a quality education for every student. It’s a real honor to receive this scholarship.” 

Finch is participating in the educational doctorate program at Washington State University. He earned a master’s degree from Central Washington University and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in Massachusetts.

The Winter Scholarship is designed to assist talented and committed educational administrators as they enhance those skills needed to serve as educational leaders in the field of public education. Seattle-Northwest Securities Corp. and WASA recognize the need to support and encourage educational administrators to advance their administrative leadership skills in the field of education as the demands placed upon school administrators intensify as they work to meet the challenges and celebrate the successes implementing new state graduation requirements and changes imposed by the No Child Left Behind legislation. 

Through this scholarship, $1,000 is awarded to a Washington school administrator who is in or will begin a doctoral program in education in the year the award is presented. It was established in honor of Dr. Doyle Winter, who retired in 2002 after completing 44 years of service for Washington public schools. Dr. Winter is a former executive director of WASA and has been recognized repeatedly for exhibiting exemplary leadership ability and enhancing school administration throughout his career.

The Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA) is a statewide professional association representing nearly 1,100 members including superintendents, central office administrators and building principals. WASA is committed to leadership in providing equity and excellence in student learning, and leadership in developing competent, ethical and visionary leaders by providing member services, offering growth opportunities for leaders, and promoting community and legislative support for education. Seattle-Northwest Securities Corporation is an investment banking firm offering tax-exempt and taxable bond underwriting services, securities trading and distribution to clients located throughout the United States. 

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Online references include

• WASA web site - www.wasa-oly.org

• Seattle-Northwest Securities Corporation – www.seattlenorthwest.com