Superintendent Barry celebrates teachers and staff

District staff received the following message from Dr. Barry in honor of National Teacher Day

Dear Staff:

National Teacher Day is a good annual reminder to stop and celebrate the talented, dedicated teachers and staff in the Issaquah School District. So this May 9, I offer my most heartfelt thanks for everything you do in schools—but I count my blessings every day of the year to have you here. While hot-button debates about student achievement come and go, nobody questions what factor is most critical in turning a good education for a student into an exceptionally great education: the quality of teachers and staff. And in Issaquah, you are the highest quality.

The entire community agrees. In three years of ongoing random polling, almost 90 percent of school-district residents say our teachers are “excellent” by giving them either an A or B grade. This rating has never wavered since the fall of 2003. Your school community greatly respects the work you are doing. You are also immensely well qualified. At our schools, 63 percent of staff members have earned their master’s degree or doctorate and increasing numbers are tackling the rigorous National Board Certification process. Eighteen staff members have been in the Issaquah School District for three decades or longer; 248 staff members have worked in education for 20 years or more; and our beginning teachers are shining in the classroom even while dealing with a complex state professional certification process. You are an impressive group!

Thank you for making students your focus, and for opening doors to them that will change their lives forever for the better. Happy National Teacher Day.

With gratitude,


Janet