In this inspiring Learning in Lake Oswego episode, we celebrate Women’s History Month by highlighting two influential community leaders, Courtney Clements and Heather Ramsey. Courtney, a dedicated volunteer with a strong record in leading successful levy and bond campaigns, recently curated an exhibit at the Oswego Heritage House honoring local women of advocacy and service. Heather, who is spearheading the upcoming bond campaign and actively contributes as a leadership consultant and community board member, shares insights on balancing professional, personal, and volunteer commitments while empowering others. Together, they reflect on their journeys and enduring commitment to supporting Lake Oswego’s schools and community.
Dr. Jennifer Schiele, Superintendent, LOSD
Mary Kay Larson, Executive Director of Communications, LOSD
Courtney Clements, Volunteer, Lake Oswego Schools Levy and Bond Campaigns, Oswego Heritage House
Heather Ramsey, Volunteer, Lake Oswego Bond Campaign, Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
Lake Oswego Schools Capital Bond Program
Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce
Michelle ODell: [00:00:00] Welcome to Learning in Lake Oswego, a podcast providing educational insights for an engaged community. Lake Oswego School District Superintendent Dr. Jennifer SCHIELE will discuss what's important to our learning community. She'll be joined by experts examining various topics, answering important questions, and sharing upcoming events and activities you won't want to miss.
And now, it's your host. Lake Oswego School District Executive Director of Communications, Mary Kay Larson.
Mary Kay Larson: Hello everyone, welcome to Learning in Lake Oswego. I'm Mary Kay Larson, your host, here with our superintendent, Dr. Jennifer Schiele. In honor of Women's History Month, This episode, we are highlighting two inspiring women in our community who are rooted in service and making our community a better place to be.
Courtney Clements, someone I've known for many, many years, has served as the chair of our past [00:01:00] two highly successful Levy and Bond campaigns. She's also a parent of two Lake Oswego High School graduates, college graduates. She also, during her tenure in our service, on the Art Literacy Board and also on many parent clubs.
And she now dedicates her volunteer time to the Oswego Heritage House and the Lake Oswego Sustainability Network. Through her work with the Heritage House, she recently curated an exhibit honoring women who have made a difference through advocacy and service in our community. And looking forward to hearing more about that soon.
We also have with us Heather Ramsey, someone I've just gotten to know, but those who do know her, love her, and I am excited to work with her. She has signed up to lead our upcoming bond campaign. Thank you so much. Woo! She is the mother of two students currently at Lake Oswego High School. And she is completing her multi year term on the Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce, [00:02:00] including serving as president of that esteemed board.
She's also an active member of the Lake Oswego Rotary Club, all while working as a leadership consultant, helping people around our community and our country be the best leaders that they can be. It's an honor to have both of them on our show today. Jen, let's get started.
Dr Jennifer Schiele: Courtney and Heather, I am so excited to have both of you here today.
You've played such key roles in supporting our schools and making our community a wonderful place to raise a family and grow a business. So let's start with introductions. Can you each share a little bit about yourself and what inspires you to give back to the Lake Oswego community? Courtney, why don't you start.
Okay,
Courtney Clements: well, as Mary Kay mentioned, I am the mother of two boys who, well, two men now, who have graduated from high school and and now college. You know, I've been here for about 20 years here in Lake Oswego and as any mom does, wanted to help create and maintain the best possible environment for my children to, to live and thrive [00:03:00] in.
And so I started getting involved in different activities in town, things that interested me, and there's a lot of interesting people doing interesting things here. And I just wanted to be a part of it. That's great. Thank you,
Heather Ramsey: Heather. How about you? So I am a business owner. I have been running my own leadership development and executive coaching company for 19 years now.
Can't believe that night. I know. Brought it. It's a lot. I've brought it all over the world. We've moved, my husband is in civil service, recently retired from civil service, but we've moved 10 times in the last 32 years. And a part of what I've done in every place that we've lived or tried to do is dig into the community and really feel connected.
And I think with Lake Oswego, it has probably been the easiest community to be welcomed into. So when you say what motivates me to give back to the Lake Oswego community, it's because they, You've made it really easy to become a part of it, and that's been really rewarding and fun to be included in such a community that [00:04:00] is so engaged and excited to dig in and help out.
Speaker 3: That's fantastic. Now, you both have deep roots in service, so what motivates you to step up as leaders and invest your time in service, not only to Lake Oswego, but to other areas here? As
Speaker 4: Heather said, this community really welcomes engagement, and While people have different perspectives and priorities, I think we all share a desire to improve our community and it's a place where you can get things done.
You can start a project, people are open to it, people are supportive of it, and if you're willing to put in the time, successes can be rewarded. I mean, sometimes it takes a while, but. But, but it can happen.
Speaker 5: It's very true. I kind of see communities as ecosystems. And what I have been really excited about here is how everybody's working together.
So for example, with the chamber, we've got the school district, we've got the Lake Corporation, we've got the city and we've got the businesses are coming together. And I think that motivates me. Cause it's like, we can do so much more when we're partnering [00:05:00] together. And so I love the fact that people are seeing the.
The bigger vision of who we want, what we want, and that I can be a part of that is so cool to be able to help move things forward and really see something that is interesting. I also think it stretches me, right? So for, for me, when I'm getting engaged here, I am talking about leadership. Well, if I'm not out there leading, then.
You know, I'm not walking my walk. So it helps me to put myself into situations that maybe are a little uncomfortable, but also help me grow.
Speaker 3: Absolutely. And I think the chamber does such a good job at having all those different groups come together and work towards any one mission that we have. So I think that is fantastic.
Walking your walk is exactly what you do there. So we all appreciate that. And through your volunteer work, especially in supporting our schools, which you guys have both done a ton of, what have you learned about this community when it comes to education? Everybody, and I
Speaker 4: think this is not hyperbole, everybody says we move terror for the schools.
And while that's absolutely true, what I've been pleasantly [00:06:00] surprised about is they also put their money where their mouths are. I mean, they consistently support this district financially, whether it's voting for bonds and levies, or contributing to the foundation, or parent clubs, or, or what, whatever they, they're, they feel motivated to, to contribute to.
They really are helping our schools, especially in a volatile funding climate, really help us succeed. And I think the other thing is, You know, we also, there's a lot of talk about neighborhood schools, and that's certainly central to our identity. But, we recognize that this is a community, so, you know, Hal and Ann parents will vote for Oak Creek renovations, and Oak Creek parents will vote for a new River Grove, and, and at the end of the day, we are one district, and we do come together and support the entire district, and that's a wonderful thing, a wonderful place to be.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I love that. I would absolutely agree with that, but I would also add, it is an engaged community. Like I have never seen [00:07:00] people coming to town halls or coming to different meetings with the school board and actually talking about what they want, how they want it, but they're not just complaining, they're out there doing it.
So it's. definitely is refreshing to see people not only put their money where their mouth is, but also, you know, jump in and, and really try to engage in the conversation and be a part of the change that needs to happen, which is really amazing.
Speaker 3: Yeah. And using really their time, which is, as we all know, the most valuable thing that we possibly could have.
And we all know that leadership comes with challenges. So can you share a time when you faced an obstacle in your work and how you navigated it? Well,
Speaker 4: as much as you may remember, we we ran the 2021 bond campaign during COVID.
Speaker 3: Yes, that was a little nutty, wasn't it? Yeah, to say
Speaker 4: it was tricky is a bit of an understatement.
But I think, you know, using Zoom and having small meetings and not being afraid to go to [00:08:00] things and wear our masks and still talk to people and, and get the vote out. I think we managed it pretty well given those constraints. We did canvassing where we just, we didn't, we just dropped flyers on people's porches.
We didn't actually knock on the door. We don't want to scare anybody. So that was a challenge, but I mean, clearly it worked out in the end. We did pass the, the bond 56 percent of the vote. So that was wonderful. I preferred the levy campaign in terms of public engagement.
Speaker 3: Well, we could not have done any of that without you because COVID was such I have post traumatic stress disorder just from thinking about it.
Speaker 5: Heather, how about you? Luckily, I get to walk with people every day and a lot of those really difficult situations. But for myself, I was on a board, I just had gotten elected onto this board. And I walked into the first day. And it was like the chair and the vice chair were fighting, they didn't even introduce the new people.
I didn't even know who was new, who wasn't, they didn't know who I was. It was just. A disaster. And I thought, Oh my gosh, what have I signed myself up for? And so I [00:09:00] started doing one on ones. I started trying to figure out like what was important to people. I got them together, invited, invited them to come together to like set a vision for who, you know, who do we want to be?
Cause obviously there were. I'm wrestling around as far as like, you know, what is our mission, our purpose and that sort of thing. So I, I got folks together around that, had some really difficult conversations with some people who were having, you know, they were maybe there for the wrong reason or they had a little bit of ego piece going on.
I stepped up and took on as being chair. So really helped to move that forward. And I think just setting the intention, getting people focused on a vision, but also helping people feel appreciated and engaged. for it was how I handled it. And it was like just one meeting at a time, one meeting at a time.
But at first I was like, I did, what am I doing here?
Speaker 3: Everything I know about you is all about relationships. So that does not surprise me that you swooped in and you got everybody playing together in the sandbox. So that's, that's a good thing. So as you guys both know, this month is all about celebrating contributions of [00:10:00] women in history.
And Courtney, you, your latest. exhibit at the Oswego Heritage House focuses on women who have made a difference in our community, which I think is just fantastic. So what inspired you to create that exhibit? And then what stories stood out to you the most?
Speaker 4: Well, I was working with a team of Heritage House volunteers over at the Lake Oswego Public Library, and we were indexing their collection of historic, mostly documents, but they have photos and some objects and whatnot.
And I opened an envelope and I pulled out 140 voter registration cards dated 1913, and half of those cards had been filled out by women. Oregon women got the right to vote in 1912. So as I'm looking at these cards, I'm realizing these are the first women, some of the first women to vote in our state, and some of the first women to vote in our country, because of course national suffrage didn't happen until, until 1920.
And I thought, Whoa, that's amazing that we have those cards. So I just started looking into the [00:11:00] stories of, of the women who had filled these cards out and really started learning about how engaged civically they were, even before they got the right to vote. And. You know, I think about the women who get things done in our town today, most, like, the women I'm talking to right now.
And I thought, well, who were, who were our ancestors, if you will civically? And, you know, these women were, they lived in Oswego like we do, they were moms like we are, they had meetings in their houses like we do. And they, they got it done. It took six times on the ballot for suffrage to pass in the state and they didn't give up.
They kept working, expanding their networks, doing all the things they needed to do to make it happen. And I found that super inspiring and wanted to share that with the community.
Speaker 3: Think of that history and having it in your hands is so amazing. And they're probably the same people, you probably recognize some of the last names from street signs around here.
Speaker 4: [00:12:00] Absolutely. Absolutely. So let me think, Dora S. B. Wilson. So she lived over, there was a train station, Wilsonia, which is, was over by Tryon Creek, what is now Tryon Creek Park. And she served on the school board, as did Elizabeth. Pettinger, she served on the school board as well before, before she could even vote.
Actually, women could vote in school related elections prior to 1912. And so I think she got on the school board, I believe, in 1907. So she got on the school board even before, I mean, women could vote, but, but not in any other kind of election. And then the first woman to be elected to the city council, it didn't happen in Oswego until the 1950s.
And that was Ellen Burgess. And I think there is a Burgess Street. So, yeah, check out your street names because probably it's somebody who did something cool.
Speaker 3: Yeah, back then you could just name the street after yourself. All right, Heather, as someone who's actively leading our bond campaign, while balancing this professional and volunteer commitments that you have, and I know you have so much, I just want to Big shout out for you volunteering to do this.
We're [00:13:00] so excited. But how do you see the role of women in leadership evolving in our community? As you know, Courtney started us off all the way back from 1912, all the way till now, how do you, you know, what do you think about that evolving? Yeah. And I think it's a keep
Speaker 5: like it's to me, it's, I don't know if it's evolving or if it's like a keep doing, because I look at our city today and we've got city manager.
Martha Bennett. We've got Assistant City Manager Megan Phelan. We've got you, Dr. SCHIELE. We've got Liz Hartman, the head of the chamber. We've got Candace Jennings, the head of the Rotary. So I guess it's like just to keep doing and keep putting ourselves forward. I also feel like The conversations that we have and that we need to continue having about what's important and education is important.
And so I think a lot of the ways that I think that women and men can help contribute to this is really just having those conversations. informing, educating, keeping people excited about what we have [00:14:00] here and excited to keep it. And also remembering that commitment of, hey, we've had this plan for 10 over 10 years and we did it over time so that it doesn't hurt things.
And so if I think if women can keep telling that story of look, this is something that is the core to our ecosystem and It's, it's a part of what makes Lake Oswego so awesome is the education and the safety, and we've got to make sure to keep those okay. And that passion that I see in so many women around me that to keep that, that going, and I also think just kind of understanding that women, we have our seasons and we can give and we can't, right.
And so depending on where our kiddos are, depending on where our job stuff is, maybe request or invitation is give what you can right. And to kind of. To plug in however you might be able to, but I do see a core part of this is the relationships, the conversations, the, the education part, and just keeping that framework going out there.
Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely. You have really good points, obviously, and keep going and not [00:15:00] just, I mean, obviously we want to evolve, but. We do have a lot of women in, in power roles here in Lake Oswego, so as being one of them, I'm happy that this community embraces having women in leadership roles. Not all communities do, and, and that's why you still see less than 20 percent of female superintendents across this nation.
It is interesting that here in Lake Oswego, we've embraced that. Yeah, it really struck me
Speaker 4: at, when my exhibit opened, Trudy Corrigan, who's a current city councilor, came, and so she's standing in front of the pictures. of the women who fought for suffrage and worked for the to enable women to be on the city council.
And I was chatting with not only Trudy but one of the descendants I believe of Dora Wilson and it just struck me like, wow, here's the past and the present just colliding and, and Trudy agreed. I mean, she wouldn't She wouldn't be able to do what she does without the work of the women who came before her, and that was really powerful.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know and we have I mean I get the privilege of working with students all the time And so which [00:16:00] is great, but like I just got an email last night from a student who said hey, Dr Schuley, I'm interested in trying to get more involved in leadership, and I think it's important for my future Do you have any ideas of things I could do at school or the community and I was like that is so amazing that the student can just reach out to me and ask those kind of questions and I can't wait to talk with her about, you know, different ways that she can help out in this community.
And it's not just about being on ASB anymore in high school, you know, there are so many other areas in this community that embraces students being involved. And so I think that's so. Amazing. But I'm curious from both of you, what advice would you give women, whether there be students or parents or professionals, to get involved in leadership or advocacy in Lake Oswego?
Speaker 4: I can start. I have a few ideas on that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, please.
Speaker 4: I would say first, pay attention. You know, stay, stay informed about what's going on in the community. And I, I mean, I, I respect Heather saying we, our, our lives can ebb and flow, and I, [00:17:00] I get that. But, you know, read, read your newsletters. Stay, stay informed.
Educate yourself on the topic. Both opportunities and limitations. Because, you know, sometimes, Change can't happen immediately for, for whatever reason, budgetary, legislative, whatever it is. And I, I love this, your story, you just told Dr. Shilley get to know your leaders. It's not that hard. Send an email, go to a meeting, introduce yourself.
Another thing I told people, offer ideas and solutions, not just criticisms. And criticism has its place, of course it does. But follow up with an idea. And then, a former Stanford children leader told me this once. She said, you know. If we just could have done it, we just would have done it. So, sometimes change can take time, so it's be patient but persistent.
But be patient. It can take a long time. I wish, yeah, I wish I could snap my fingers and have things happen immediately, but it just doesn't work that way. But, I mean, here are these women, you know, suffrage was on the ballot first in 1884 [00:18:00] and then didn't pass until 1912. So, but it did. Hopefully things won't take 28 years to happen now, but You gotta be patient, but be persistent.
Mm hmm. That's great advice.
Speaker 5: Again, every place that I've moved, I've tried to pop in. One thing is to just show up. Right? You show up to things. And you take it in. And then, I really try. So I show up, and then, you know, people see, like, Oh, here's somebody who's excited. Let's ask her to help and da da. I'm really trying to do a better job of saying, like, Here's the things that are going to bring me energy and bring me joy, because there's a lot that I can do.
I can do anything, right? But I don't want to just be busy to be busy or because I feel like I have to. And so I really do take a good inventory every year and I volunteer a lot, but I try to take an inventory of like what brought me some juice, what got me excited and felt like I was making a difference.
And, and then where can I plug in more to that? And sometimes it's something that is. Longer term or a [00:19:00] commitment commitment, like being on a board's a commitment, but then also you can just be either on a committee or help with an event. Like one of my favorite days last year, I went and volunteered for the adult community center and helped to serve lunches to seniors.
And that was through the rotary and meals on wheels. And I left that day so excited and happy, and it was just an easy lift. So I guess I would say, look at things that bring you energy. Think about the season you're in and what you can give and then decide based on that. And I love that you both mentioned this accessibility to people because I don't think that many communities have that like here I can reach out to the mayor and he actually might meet with me.
Joe Buck will meet with me. Like what? That does not happen in every place. So I do think reaching out to people for informational interviews where Might I fit in or plug in and, and just getting some ideas of, of things that you may not know exist because, you know, you're in your own little bucket. And so I think just asking people, knowing my energy, knowing what, you know, I can contribute what I love and am passionate about, where do you think I could [00:20:00] plug in?
Speaker 3: Yeah. That again, great advice for everyone out there listening. for listening, because we do have really accessible people. I think that's a good example about Joe, but I know the police chief, the fire chief there. You can just reach out to him and ask questions. And we have a new firefighter mentorship program.
And so I have a couple of firefighters who are kind of attached to students in our high schools who are interested in being firefighters. And then the other day I had a female who came up and said, Hey, is there any way I could do this as well? And I was like, absolutely. And I found her another firefighter just like that.
And it literally was a phone call to the fire chief saying, Hey, I have one more. Can you help? It's very unique about Lake Oswego and I, I think that we need to be recognized for that because it's pretty fantastic. So kind of switching a little bit to school finances, which is a fun topic for everyone.
Both of you have played and will continue to play essential roles in supporting school funding measures. So why do you believe levy and bond [00:21:00] campaigns are critical for our schools? Well, the
Speaker 4: you know, the levy and the bond, provide funding for education, but I think that the campaigns help educate about funding.
So, you know, we have a volatile tax system in this state with, we rely on income tax and property tax. We have no sales tax and that's up to the voters, but we don't. So we're, we're reliant on those two primary sources and they can ebb and flow depending on the, the economy, mostly income tax. So the levies and the bonds really provide stable pools of funding for teachers in terms of the levy and then for, for buildings for the, for the, with the bonds.
And I think the campaigns are a way to That, keep that information in the forefront, keep that information in front of people. Our school population does turn over, you know, as people age out of the system, so we need to educate new parents. And we need to remind our older voters, I guess I am one of those now, my kids now no longer in the district, [00:22:00] you know, that these sources of funding are super important.
And you know, I mean, we can, we can risk apathy from repetition, but I think it's super important to just stay, stay in the conversation. And that's what the campaigns can do. That's great.
Speaker 3: And I think you're absolutely right. The campaign is. That's the teaching part. That's the teaching and learning about what is, what is funding and how it works.
And I know we just did a podcast recently on how to read your tax bill. And so we're trying to make that part of the campaign as well. Like be informed and know that the bonds and the levies, those are things that you can actually do that affects Lake Oswego. Like this is something you have control over, power over in your own little community.
We're the way education is set up in the state of Oregon. It doesn't work that way. We send our money. You know, Salem, they decide where it gets spent and send us back what, whatever they think we deserve, I guess, but it's never enough. So this is one way that we can, you know, really make sure that we're hitting everybody.
Speaker 4: Absolutely. People are very receptive to that message that [00:23:00] that money stays here and, and provides for our students. And I think that's, that's, that's super important.
Speaker 5: Yeah. And I feel like there's a lot of new people here. Okay. So you have a lot of folks who have moved here that don't necessarily have children, even if they do, they still need to be educated.
So I think those campaigns are going to be key to helping people understand all the different things that make this place so great. And again, that ecosystem, it starts with the schools. It starts with the public safety. Those two things are like the foundation Then we can get into the arts and the, the other things that make us, we go awesome, but we've got to make sure to stay focused on that.
And, and fabulous business people and owners, our property prices are high. And that is because of the foundation of the education and the safety. And so it's really just reminding people that we have to take care of that. If we don't take care of that, then it's, then it's going to crumble and we want to make sure that those pieces are there.
So I think the campaign helps educate, but also [00:24:00] remind. Folks, why this place is so awesome and that we do all have a responsibility to make that happen. And it's not as big of a hit. I don't think when, when somebody was explaining it to me, it doesn't feel like it's like that much of a hit compared to the thing that I get from it.
Speaker 4: Yeah. I love that too. To follow up on that, a question I got a lot during the campaigns was, but they always pass, don't they? And I say, well, they do if you vote. I mean, you have to be engaged. You can't rely on someone else to, to, to make it happen. You have to make it happen. I think that's a very powerful message too, that yeah, we, we, we consistently do support these measures, but that's because we consistently vote and you really have to do that.
Speaker 3: Get the vote out. Yes, that's absolutely. So Courtney, you've chaired multiple successful campaigns. And so what strategies have been most effective in engaging our community? I'm sure Heather's dying to hear this as she's She's writing it all down.
Speaker 4: Well, okay, this may sound a [00:25:00] little retro, but really personal engagement and personal communication.
I mean, of course we did all the things that you do. The mailers and the lawn signs and the digital marketing and the all that sort of thing. But I and members of my team, we went to meetings, we went to neighborhood associations, we went to parent clubs, we went to rotary, and we talked to people, and we made our case.
person to person. Honestly, I did a lot of campaigning in the produce department at New Seasons. If you saw people diving down the cereal aisle, that's probably because I was in the, in the produce section chatting up someone about the bond or the levy. But I think that, you know, this town, As Heather said, we're, we're very engaged.
We talk to each other. I mean, think about the coffee shops we have here. Someone's supporting those. We're in those coffee shops talking to each other. And I really think that that has made a profound difference in, in how we are able to maintain that consistent support. [00:26:00]
Speaker 3: So, Heather, you're stepping into the role, as I mentioned.
So, what excites you most about this opportunity and what do you hope to accomplish?
Speaker 5: I know what doesn't excite me about it. I love a passion project. So, I am very excited to help with the education piece. I mean, that's, that's a big core of it, but also the outreach to people. Like, when Courtney was just saying that, I was like, Oh, I could be doing, like, One coffee at a time, you know, so I think it's that connecting with folks, finding out what's important to them.
But also a lot of times people are asking, like even yesterday I was doing a one on one and they're like, how can I help you? And I was like, I'm doing this bond thing and I'm going to need your help. Right. So it just, it's something that's bigger than me. It's not about my business. It's not about what it's about the community.
And so I think that excites me as well. And just the opportunity to engage. I've been really passionate about. Helping people see like how to plug in. And so I feel like this is a really great way for people to plug in. They got to go vote and that's, it's not a heavy lift, but it's, but it is super helpful, impactful.
So I helping to spread that word of how are you [00:27:00] plugging in? How are you helping your community is exciting. And the other exciting part of it is I've never done a campaign. So I. I don't know, so this is going to be new and interesting and I'll learn a lot from the fabulous people that I get to work with along the way.
Speaker 3: And Courtney, who has already said she will help us, is an amazing person to work with, so that's fantastic. And of course Mary Kay and Tony and. It's a, it's a great team. So I think you're going to like it, but it is, you know, it's work. It's just getting out there and talking to people for sure. Absolutely.
Speaker 4: It's a great team, but it is it's a lot of it's a lot of one on ones and drink a lot of coffee. It's awesome though. I'm all for that.
Speaker 3: So looking ahead, what are the hopes and dreams you have for the future of Lake Oswego, both in our schools and kind of the broader community?
Speaker 4: For me, I benefited from a good education, and I know that you know, it has helped me in my life, and I just want the same for our kids, our students, and, and as Heather said, it's, it really is foundational [00:28:00] to a thriving community, both economically, socially, all of that, civic engagement, all of that, foundation is education, and so just, I'm, You know, commit to keep working to, to make those opportunities available for our kids.
And, for the community in general, keep talking to each other. And not through devices. Face to face. That would be my hope, because I think it does make our community stronger.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree with that. We're trying to, to get rid of the devices for a little while. It makes a big difference actually sitting down and talking with someone.
You know, we've been doing a lot in our schools, obviously, without using cell phones. But, you know, our mission really is to teach kids, you know, how to think. And, and not what to think. And so being able to have those conversations with other adults and, and their peers in the community is so very important for them to learn those skills.
So
Speaker 5: I
Speaker 3: agree with
Speaker 5: that. How about you, Heather? Well, we are so happy and excited to have landed in this district. And again, when [00:29:00] we. We're moving here. We were told we were moving here and I was like, where are we going to live in the Portland area? It was like, as we go, everybody hands down the school district, you got to go.
And we are, we have not been disappointed. Our, both of our children are thriving because of that. And I think you're right about the way, you know, critical thinking, problem solving, confidence that comes through. It's just so brilliant. So my hope is, is that we keep that, that we keep that and we, we keep feeding that, but I also would love more inner.
intertwined with the business community. So super passionate about, you know, the internship opportunities that people might have, or just showing students what opportunities might be there. So I think like maybe if I had a hope, it would be that that kind of comes together a little bit more. So I know that it's happening, but a little bit more like the mock interviews.
I'm just always so impressed with the students, but also the, the business people that are coming to help out and volunteer for that. So more of that engagement and I think continued partnerships. along all of the areas that are partnering, the way that we have [00:30:00] conversations, the way that we move things forward.
Also a hope of the strategic way of thinking. I love that the school district was, Hey, 10 years ago, how can we know that these buildings are going to need help? How do we make sure to make that happen without breaking the bank for everybody? And so my hope would be to continue that piece of it as well.
The, the way the city does all their strategy and the sausage making process to pick some goals and to, to do one thing at a time. And so. being a part of that, but also continuing that would be my hope.
Speaker 3: Thank you for sharing that. So finally, Women's History Month is a time of reflection and gratitude. So who are the women, past or present, who have inspired each of you the most?
Speaker 4: Well, you know, speaking as a local historian I'm really inspired by, on the micro level, by, by women whose names I will never know. The women who, you know, I, I understand the, the, Themes of history and you need to know the big events, but really history is driven forward by the women who get up every day [00:31:00] and get it done.
The women who in their past tended the farms and raised the kids and taught in the schools and ran businesses and and just did all the things that they needed to do to move to move our Our civilization forward and so, you know, I'm not a famous person. I'm not a national figure but I can do what I can do in my little town to make it better and hopefully that will have a ripple effect in the state, the nation, maybe the world, but it's those little ripples that I think are what, what drives history and I'm inspired by, again, the women who get up every day and just get it done.
Speaker 3: I love that. And I do think women do give it every day, get it done. I mean, that's kind of from the beginning of time. It feels like we have been doing that. Absolutely. Heather, how about
Speaker 5: you? I've got a few. I've got my mom, who is she was an educator. She worked with students that, We're at the time not diagnosed, but autistic or ADHD.
And she got frustrated that the [00:32:00] school system was kind of pushing them aside and was like, they're garbage, they're not going to be worth anything. So she was like, take this job and shove it. And she went out and started her own school. And she started two schools to to help students to be able to thrive, to come back into the school system and thrive.
So teaching them the skills that they needed and the confidence that they needed. And so I just loved her. I'm not going to complain about it. I'm gonna go do something about it. So I love that about my mom. And then this other woman who was a client, but also became an amazing friend, Yvonne Simon, she worked with Southern New Hampshire University, and she had this vision of education for all students, no matter what, how much money they had, or where they were, and especially people who had gotten out in the workforce, but just College wasn't their thing.
And so the program that we worked together on, she just could see it. So she had this wonderful vision. She was able to plug in everything, but I also loved how she pulled in the talents of everybody and she put them in the right projects for them. And so she just had this wonderful way of. I'm going [00:33:00] to put them in that spot and I'm going to let them go and I'm going to let them fly and they're going to be awesome.
And she had gotten cancer. She survived for many years, but with just such a positive attitude about the whole thing. So she's She's at my desk right now. I actually have a picture of her from her, her thing. There's Yvonne. And so I, she reminds me every day to just, you know, keep going, think of the bigger picture and plug in and make things happen.
Speaker 3: That's great. And it's just kind of, women are fantastic and they just dream differently. And I think that's what makes the biggest difference in our. Not only our little community here, but the world in general. So thank you both for being here today and sharing your experiences, your insights, your dedication, especially to our community.
I really, really appreciate that. And you know, everything you've done has a lasting impact. And we're so, so, so very grateful to both of you for everything you've done. So it was great having you here today. And I hope you enjoy the rest of your day. Thank you.
Speaker 5: Thank you. And thank you for all you do.
Seriously. Thank you. [00:34:00] Amazing.
Speaker 2: Thanks. Thank you, Courtney and Heather. I am so inspired by both of you. I think I'm gonna, my new mantra is getting things done. Jen has heard me say this before that I think one of my personal favorite accomplishments in this position is actually asking both of you to chair our levy and bond campaigns.
I think that's one of the best things I've got done. So thank you. She
Speaker 3: was very excited when you both said yes.
Speaker 2: I almost felt like I was asking him to marry me. But yes. But thank you. And, and I'm, I'm sure listeners can appreciate why I was so excited that they said yes, just being so inspired by you. So also another theme that came up in this podcast was talking about engaging in our community.
And Jen, there's a lot happening in March. Why don't we talk about where and how people can engage with us?
Speaker 3: Absolutely. And March as every month is super busy with many exciting events. Of course, be sure to [00:35:00] visit the Oswego Heritage House for their exhibit, The Side of Better Government, Voting and Civic Engagement in Oswego, which is on display through the end of March.
So the Oswego Heritage House is a little white house on the top of A Avenue in Lake Oswego. If you've not been there and you live in this community, you should go there because it is a beautiful little museum and has great. Exhibits and it's just it's a fantastic place and you should yeah, it's so charming.
Yes, you should totally visit it also you can catch Sweeney Todd the demon barber of Fleet Street of Lake Oswego High School With its last performances on March 6 7th and 8th And it is a must see event and Heather Ramsey who was just on here. Her son is Anthony in that musicals It's fantastic and You can see Heather, you can meet Heather there if you go to one of the events because she'll probably be the one in the front crying.
So that's, that's fantastic. We also talked about it before, but we have the Rotary's Educational Excellence Award Ceremony taking place on March 11th. And this is an [00:36:00] excellent opportunity to be inspired by our students, educators, and residents providing service above self for the betterment of others in education.
And it's a really important event to attend. And I'm For one, really looking forward to that one. And then lastly, we have March 18th. We're going to host our District Strings and Orchestra Festival. And that brings in our youngest elementary musicians, all the way to our accomplished high school performers.
And seeing that student growth, I mean, when you watch that, it is just absolutely fantastic. It's like they first learn how to play a note, and then they sound like professional artists by the time they're done. So it is so inspiring.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's one of those events that you watch it and you listen to it and you think, oh my gosh, someday my child will be able to do that if they keep at it.
And it's, yeah, very inspiring. Even if your child's not in into music, it's something that I think all parents can appreciate just the work and the dedication and what it takes to, to learn an instrument and be that accomplished. Absolutely. Well, that's it for [00:37:00] today's learning in Lake Oswego. Next time, we are going to be talking about a favorite topic of many, food.
We're going to chat with our director of nutritional services and get the scoop on what is happening in our schools with meals.
Speaker 3: Perfect. Until next time, keep exploring and stay engaged. Class dismissed.
Speaker: We hope you found this episode informative and helpful. While our discussions are general, we understand each family's experience is unique.
If you have specific questions about your child, please contact your school principal. To learn more about the topics we discussed, ask a question, or share ideas for future episodes, please visit LOSDSchools. org. And remember to like and follow us wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you for engaging with Learning in Lake Oswego.
We appreciate your support and look forward to having you with us for our next [00:38:00] episode.