District parents and community members will get a chance to meet the new leader of the Forest Grove School District at a meet and greet event scheduled for September 23 from 6 to 7 p.m. at Echo Shaw Elementary School.
Following the retirement of former Superintendent Dave Parker, Dr. Suzanne West was selected by a unanimous vote of the Forest Grove School Board during a May 1 board meeting.
Her first day on the job was July 1. This academic year is West’s first leading the district.
“There will be additional opportunities to meet her in the coming weeks,” the district promised in a social media post, but the district did not specify additional dates or locations.
The district serves the cities of Forest Grove and Cornelius, as well as the rural communities of Gales Creek, Dilley, Verboort, and other rural communities near Forest Grove.
West is a longtime educator, and has held a variety of roles, most recently in Salem, where she was the Director of Strategic Initiatives and the Director of Elementary Curriculum & Instruction in Salem-Keizer Public Schools.
She was also the Director of Technology and Innovation in the Sherwood School District, and has worked as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal at the elementary and middle school levels.
West holds a doctorate in education, earned at the University of Oregon, and a master of arts in teaching and a bachelor of arts in management and organizational leadership from George Fox University in Newberg.
Echo Shaw Elementary School is located in Cornelius at 914 S Linden Street.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
