Teresa M. Bergeson (born October 5, 1942) is a former three-term
Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction
The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, or OSPI, is the state education agency for the Washington (state), State of Washington. The agency is bound by the Washington State Legislature to implement state laws regarding ...
.
Biography
Dr. Bergeson graduated from
Emmanuel College in 1964 with a B.A. in English. In 1969, she earned a master's degree in counseling and guidance from
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...
. She earned her doctoral degree from the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
.
Bergeson worked as a counselor at
Lincoln High School in
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...
, and as a teacher and
guidance counselor
A school counselor is a professional who works in primary (elementary and middle) schools or secondary schools to provide academic, career, college access/affordability/admission, and social-emotional competencies to all students through a school ...
in
and
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
. During this period Bergeson served as chair of the
National Education Association
The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...
's Women's Caucus and implemented their National Women's Leadership Training Project. In 1981 Bergeson was elected vice-president of the
Washington Education Association
The Washington Education Association (WEA) is the statewide teachers' union for the state of Washington, United States. It was founded on April 2–3, 1889 as the Washington State Teachers Association. The WEA was the defendant in Davenport v. Was ...
, and in 1985 she was elected president.
In 1989, she was hired as an executive director in the
Central Kitsap School District
Central Kitsap School District 401 is a public school district in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It serves unincorporated portions of the county, including the community of Silverdale, and portions of the City of Bremerton.
As of Jun ...
where she had a supervisory role over 9 of the 21 schools in the district. From 1993 to 1996, Bergeson was the executive director of the Washington State Commission on Student Learning, in which capacity she led the development of
statewide standards for students, as well as the
Washington Assessment of Student Learning The Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) was a standardized educational assessment system given as the primary assessment in the state of Washington from spring 1997 to summer 2009. The WASL was also used as a high school graduation exam ...
.
In 1996, Bergeson launched her first successful bid for the non-partisan office of
Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction
The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, or OSPI, is the state education agency for the Washington (state), State of Washington. The agency is bound by the Washington State Legislature to implement state laws regarding ...
. She was re-elected in 2000 and 2004. As superintendent Bergeson led further development of statewide standards and
standardized test
A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predete ...
s, particularly after the Commission on Student Learning was dissolved in 1999.
A Brief History of Essential Academic Learning Requirements and the Washington Assessment of Student Learning
.'' Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Retrieved 2/19/08.
In 2008, Bergeson was defeated in her run for a fourth term as Superintendent of Public Instruction by challenger
Randy Dorn
Randolph I. Dorn (born September 10, 1953) is an American educator and politician who served as the 14th Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member of ...
.
See also
*
Washington Assessment of Student Learning The Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) was a standardized educational assessment system given as the primary assessment in the state of Washington from spring 1997 to summer 2009. The WASL was also used as a high school graduation exam ...
Notes
External links
*Bergeson, T. (n.d.
By the Numbers: Rising Student Achievement in Washington StateNew Horizons for Learning website.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergeson, Terry
Living people
Education reform
American educators
Western Michigan University alumni
Washington (state) Superintendents of Public Instruction
University of Washington College of Education alumni
National Education Association people
Women in Washington (state) politics
1942 births
21st-century American women