June 05, 2024
Page 9
Onpoint’s Prize Tigard-Tualatin School District
for Excellence in Announces New Leader
Dr. Udosenata
Education
Named as
an ice storm left Markham El-
Superintendent
Principal Traniece Brown-War-
rens immediately jumped in to
ensure as little disruption as pos-
sible. She worked with four oth-
er schools to “host” students by
crafting new bus schedules and
ensuring every student received
support through carefully sched-
uled classes and counseling.
Even though students could not
be at Markham, Brown-Warrens
made sure Markham was always
with them by sending a daily
newsletter called the “Energy
Bus News.”
Since becoming principal in
2022, Brown-Warrens’ impact
on Markam can be felt just about
everywhere. She introduced
calming corners in each class-
room to help students self-reg-
ulate their emotions. She imple-
mented a "What I Need" (WIN)
initiative for students to dedicate
30 minutes each day to address
individual learning and emo-
tional needs – which led to in-
creased state assessment scores
in math, English, and students’
feeling of belonging.
To spark a renewed enthusi-
asm for literacy, Brown War-
rens introduced a book vend-
ing machine and spearheaded
the "Markham Reads a Million
Minutes" read-a-thon, raising
funds for the PTA and boosting
reading proficiency. She also
helped establish new student
groups such as the Black Ex-
cellence Club, the Asian Pacif-
ic Islander Club and the Lead-
ership Club.
OnPoint will also award
a $5,000 cash prize to each
of the following 2024 run-
ners-up and make a $1,500
donation to their schools for
resources and supplies.
After a national search, the
Tigard-Tualatin School District
(TTSD) School Board announced
that Dr. Iton-Etok O Udosenata
will be the District’s new Super-
intendent beginning July 1, 2024.
Dr. Iton-Etok O Udosenata is cur-
rently serving as the Deputy Su-
perintendent with the Salem-Keiz-
er School District and will step
into the position held by Dr. Sue
Rieke-Smith who announced she
is retiring at the end of the 2023-
2024 school year.
“We are thrilled to welcome
Dr. Udosenata to the Tigard-Tu-
alatin School District. Because of
his focus on working as a collec-
tive to advance student outcomes
and his commitment to centering
students in every decision, it was
clear to the board that Dr. Udose-
nata would be the perfect lead-
er for our district,” said Board
Chair, Tristan Irvin. “His demon-
strated ability to foster academic
achievement, promote equity, and
build collaborative relationships
with our parents, community
leaders, and local organizations
are key areas that will guide our
district forward and build on our
successes. We are excited to in-
troduce him and his family to the
Continued from Page 5 ementary School inoperable.
crafting new bus schedules and
ensuring every student received
support through carefully sched-
uled classes and counseling.
Even though students could not
be at Markham, Brown-Warrens
made sure Markham was always
with them by sending a daily
newsletter called the “Energy
Bus News.”
The four Educators of the
Year will have their mortgage or
rent paid for one year and will
receive $2,500 for each of their
schools. In addition, the four
runners-up will receive $5,000
for themselves and $1,500 for
each of their schools.
“Our Educators of the Year
Awards recognize the remark-
able educators whose dedica-
tion impacts their students and
community every day,” said
Rob Stuart, President and Chief
Executive Officer of OnPoint
Community Credit Union. “This
year’s winners and runners-up
use their amazing creativity and
innovation to inspire students.
As we celebrate the 15th year of
these awards, we are honored to
recognize and support the edu-
cators who go above and beyond
to teach and lead our youth."
The OnPoint Prize for Ex-
cellence in Education has
awarded more than $843,000
in prizes to 326 local educators
and schools since 2010. The
2024 campaign will award an
additional $193,000 to deserv-
ing public and private K-12 ed-
ucators and schools.
Gold Star Educator of the
Year goes to Dr. Traniece
Brown-Warrens
Principal,
Markham Elementary School,
Portland, Ore. In January 2024,
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Dr. Iton O. Udosenata. Photo
Courtesy of PPS
TTSD community, and look for-
ward to our district’s future!”
As a leader, Dr. Udosenata
brings a student-centered focus
with a commitment to creating
systems where all students thrive
academically, socially, and emo-
tionally. He brings a knowledge
of state-level policy for working
with the school board to iden-
tify a vision for unifying staff
to a collective purpose while
maintaining a focus of academic
achievement, advancement, and
fiscal responsibility.
While serving as Depu-
ty Superintendent for the Sa-
lem-Keizer School District for
four years, Dr. Udosenata ac-
complishments include working
with the bargaining team to suc-
cessfully settle a contract and as
a vital member of the executive
team, bridging an $80 million
dollar budget shortfall. Addi-
tionally, he oversees secondary
instruction, student and family
services, and the Office of Stu-
dent Equity, Access, and Ad-
vancement. Dr. Udosenata also
supervises the Office of Safety
Risk and Management Services
and has worked to improve safe-
ty, risk management, and com-
munity engagement strategies
to promote school safety and
mitigate risk.
“I understand the importance,
now more than ever, of fostering
safe and welcoming schools that
nurture our students’ academ-
ic and social-emotional needs
from the day they enter our
classrooms as kindergarteners to
when they accept a diploma as
graduates. The impact of public
education is long-lasting, and as
a Superintendent you can expect
my best in service of all TTSD
students, staff, and community to
make the greatest impact possi-
ble,” said Dr. Udosenata.
Dr. Udosenata holds a BA in
Ethnic Studies, an MA in Edu-
cation Leadership, and Doctor-
ate in Education Methodology,
Policy, and Leadership from the
University of Oregon.
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