WASA News Release - 2007 Washington State Superintendent of the Year


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 17, 2006	CONTACT:	Amy Riggs 360/943-5717 ariggs@wasa-oly.org

2007 WASHINGTON STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR HONOR AWARDED TO LARRY NYLAND, MARYSVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Applauded by stakeholders for rebuilding community and district support for Marysville schools, Dr. Nyland is humbled and honored to represent superintendents across the state in the National Superintendent of the Year program. OLYMPIA, Washington - Larry Nyland, superintendent, Marysville School District, was selected as Washington state’s 2007 Superintendent of the Year by the Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA). The announcement was made today in Spokane at the association's annual superintendents meeting. Dr. Nyland will represent Washington in the National Superintendent of the Year Award Program, which is sponsored by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) and ARAMARK. The 2007 National Superintendent of the Year will be announced and recognized along with the other three state finalists in early March at the AASA National Conference on Education in New Orleans, Louisiana. “You work hard throughout your career—first and foremost to make a difference for the students and for learning—and you also hope that someone notices. When the recognition does come, you are humbled,” commented Dr. Nyland in reaction to his selection. “You are reminded how God has prepared you, how countless others have supported you and how teamwork makes it all possible,” he added. “This [honor] is a tribute to the way people have come together in Marysville to make good things happen for students. I am honored to represent my superintendent colleagues across Washington and the great team we have in Marysville.” In support of his candidacy for the award, Dr. Nyland was commended for revitalizing Marysville School District following the 49-day strike in 2003. In his nomination, he is celebrated for improving relationships among all parties—community and district, employees and management, students and staff, and much-admired for increased student learning opportunities attributed to his “well-defined and highly intensified curriculum and instruction visions.” Max Silverman, a former colleague from Highline School District, provided the following quote in support of Dr. Nyland’s nomination for Superintendent of the Year: “Larry does a great job of creating staff ownership. He communicates urgency, provides top-notch professional development, engages in doing the work himself and keeping all eyes focused on the same work. This notion of staff ownership was important to the success of the work in Highline…Amazingly, after he left [Highline], nobody even considered moving away from the literacy initiative. This was because he empowered people to do and own the work. I think it is a rare individual that leaves a system able and eager to carry on the work after a leader leaves.” A former president of WASA, Dr. Nyland is in his third year as the superintendent in Marysville. Prior to that, he was the academic officer and human resources director for Highline School District. Dr. Nyland additionally held superintendent roles in the Shoreline and Pasco school districts and in Alaska. Outside of school districts, he formerly directed the superintendent preparation program at Seattle Pacific University and was a consultant/interim director for the Commission on Student Learning. His education includes roles as a adjunct professor at several universities and as a former leadership fellow at Harvard University, University of Santa Clara and the Teacher’s College at Columbia. His doctorate, superintendent certificate and earlier credentials were earned from the University of Washington. The Washington Association of School Administrators is committed to the development of quality education through professional leadership. Members benefit from a supportive community of professional leaders working to provide insightful and valuable training, support and resources to education leaders, and to sustain a positive impact on legislative and community leaders. With more than 1,600 members, membership is open to all education administrators in central office, building managements and educational agency positions. A not-for profit organization, WASA is funded by membership dues and association events. To learn more, visit WASA’s Web site at www.wasa-oly.org. # # # # # Ed. Note: WASA Web site - www.wasa-oly.org AASA Web site - www.aasa.org