ESD 112 Superintendent Twyla Barnes to retire in September after 20 years

Based in Vancouver, ESD 112 serves 30 school districts in six Southwest Washington counties. The districts range in size from Evergreen Public Schools, one of the largest in the state with almost 27,000 students, to Centerville, with 25 students in a two-story brick elementary school in Klickitat County, Barnes said.

o Educational Service District 112 serves 100,000 students attending 30 public school districts, 23 private schools and two state schools.

o It covers six counties: Clark, Cowlitz, Klickitat, Pacific, Skamania and Wahkiakum.

o Employees: 1,200 in the six-county region; about half work off-site.

o 2013-14 budget: Approximately $50 million.

The service districts were created to bring equity, Barnes said. By pooling money and resources, local schools can get better access to instructional materials, specialized teachers and counselors, and administrative support specialists.

“I’ve been focused on helping to create partnerships so small districts can offer more,” she said.

The work she’s most proud of is bringing school superintendents together regularly, with the result of “a community of superintendents supporting each other, working together,” Barnes said.

“A school district’s superintendent, principals and teachers are accountable to their families,” Barnes said. “I am accountable to those superintendents.”

An ESD’s dual focus encompasses teaching and learning support to help strengthen instruction and improve student achievement, and business/operations expertise to help support district management functions.

During her two-decade tenure, Barnes said the biggest single change is “the focus on academic performance with federal and state government providing oversight.”

Among other ESD 112 accomplishments under Barnes’ leadership is the growth of the Southwest Washington Child Care Consortium, which has been recognized nationally as one of the largest public-private partnerships of its kind. Barnes serves as the chief executive officer of the consortium.

As more school districts implement full-day kindergarten, Barnes has had conversations with teachers to see how kids are adjusting to more hours at school.

One kindergarten teacher told her “They’re excited to come to school every day.”

Raised in Wyoming, Barnes began her career as an elementary school teacher in Juneau, Alaska, and then Custer, Mont. She taught music, band and choir.

Barnes said she’s looking forward to spending time with her husband and kids and looks forward to “visiting all the schools of my grandkids.”

Susan Parrish: 360-735-4515; http://twitter.com/Col_Schools; susan.parrish@columbian.com.