Benny Westcott
Lisa Riggs became superintendent of the Sweet Home School District on Tuesday, Aug. 17, succeeding Tom Yahraes, who resigned earlier this month after a half-decade at the helm.
Riggs brings 25 years of experience to the role.
“First and foremost, I am a teacher,” she said. “I look at this role as being a lead learner, and learning together. And there’s so much to learn. The history here – so many people within the school system that grew up here appreciate the education they received and want to give back. I want to be a part of that team, and part of the community partnership that I have seen.”
Riggs grew up in Port Angeles, Wash., graduating from Port Angeles High School in 1986. She obtained her bachelor of arts in English and education from Washington State University in 1991, then received her first master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Seattle City University in 1994 and a second master’s in educational leadership from the University of Victoria British Columbia in 2008.
After finishing at Washington State, she returned to her alma mater and worked in the Port Angeles School District for 15 years. She was a seventh- and eighth-grade language arts and writing instructor at Stevens Middle School from 1991 to 2000, the district’s library media coordinator from 2000 to 2003, and middle school library media specialist and teacher from 2003 to 2005.
She then relocated to Reno, Nev., where she supervised the gifted and talented education program across Washoe County School District, a district with nearly 65,000 students. From 2010 to 2015, she was also Director of the University of Nevada Reno’s Learning Resource Center and the Washoe County School District’s library media services director.
In 2015 she moved again for a job opportunity in Texas, working for the San Antonio Independent School District as associate superintendent of curriculum and instruction/chief academic officer from 2015 to 2018.
Longing to return to the Pacific Northwest, she accepted a position as assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and assessment at the Gresham-Barlow School District in Gresham, where she remained until taking the superintendent job in Sweet Home.
“I foresee some bumps as we begin the school year, but I think that together we can solve the problems for our students,” she said, adding, “We are really looking forward to returning to our amazing learning spaces.”
Riggs noted that she was somewhat of a “late hire” in relation to the beginning of the school year but said, “Through this amazing team, there wasn’t a pause in anything for students.”
Of former superintendent Yahraes, she said, “I so appreciate his legacy of work that he has done.”
In her first few days, Riggs has been absorbing as much information as she can. “I’m doing more listening than talking right now because there’s so much for me to learn,” she said.
While researching the district to make sure it was a “great fit,” Riggs noted all of its positives, including “the graduation rate, the on-track for high school, the career and technology education advancements, university and community college connections, the strategic plan that is going to be moving forward. We’re growing our students into thriving community members so they are community- and future-ready.
“School is about outstanding education on core concepts and standards, but also learning to be a community member, have joy, and have opportunities to do things outside of the typical education,” she continued. “I look forward to the funding that has been given out for increased music and arts, and STEM technology. Those are the things that are going to excite our students and teachers as they return.”
She also spoke positively of the role of athletics.