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To: Superintendents, Principals, K-12 PIOs, Education Partner Leaders and Communicators, Business Managers
From: Colt Gill, Former Director of Oregon Department of Education
Date: July 10, 2023
Re: Partnering For Students
Dear Partners,
My time in this capacity of service to you, students, families, and communities has come to an end. Governor Kotek has appointed an incredible Director, Dr. Charlene Williams, to support her education efforts, lead at ODE, and be of service to you. Please know that I am partnering closely with Governor Kotek, Dr. Williams and their teams to provide whatever support may be helpful in this transition. I will be supporting her transition behind the scenes through the end of August.
As Dr. Williams steps into this role today, I want to note how grateful I am for this opportunity for our state. I am inspired by Dr. Williams’ record of excellence and her passion for our children and educators - I am excited about what Oregon will accomplish next.
Working With And For You
I will miss working with and for all of you. We have worked hard to situate ODE as a service organization to districts and charter schools. My aim was to have the department be a partner in accountability alongside school districts in service to students and families, sharing responsibility for equitable services and outcomes and the federal and state laws that govern our work. We also shared a unique time in history together, leading communities through a global pandemic, historic wildfires, the beginning of a reckoning on racial inequities, and deep political divide.
I have been lucky enough to have served my entire education career in Oregon. I have served in small and medium sized districts as a teacher, principal, technology director, and assistant superintendent. And, before serving at the Chief Education Office and Oregon Department of Education, I served for 10 years as superintendent for what was the 25th largest district in Oregon. I also attended all my public school years here in Oregon as well as community college and university work. While in some ways this may have narrowed my vision, I believe it also helped me to understand the power of community and history in our state. I tried to lean into powerful learnings from those that came before us in this work and do what I could to mend fences and maintain relationships in tumultuous times. As challenging as it is, I still believe this is a state that can come together for its children.
Historic Policy Advances For Students
I’m incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together. Governors Brown and Kotek, the team at ODE, education leaders, legislators, the nine tribes, COSA, OSBA, OEA, OSEA, OASBO, OAESD, Stand, FBO (Chalkboard), and so many community-based organizations found incredible ways to partner over the last few years and that partnership created meaningful investments and policy shifts, including:
These efforts will impact the lives of students for decades and generations into the future. None of this work could have been accomplished without your partnership, leadership, and commitment. I don’t know that we can point back to a more profound and impactful six-year period of comprehensive education policy and investment productivity in Oregon’s history. I hope each of you has an opportunity to reflect on your contributions - you made Oregon better for children, and you continue to do so each day.
I hope you have some time to rest and renew this summer, please be well and continue to do good for each and every one of our children!
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