Renton School Board members voted unanimously to name the district’s new middle Vera Risdon Middle School after long-time Renton educator Vera Risdon.
The new two-story middle school is being built at the site of the old Hazelwood Elementary School at the north end of the district within Newcastle city limits. In November, the district appointed a committee to recommend potential names to the School Board.
The committee worked through hundreds of names submitted by students, parents and community members from throughout the district. The committee also took public comment at each committee meeting so community members could offer suggestions directly.
An Eastern Washington native, Risdon began her career in Renton as a sixth-grade teacher in 1966 straight out of Washington State University. Before retiring in 2013, she had been an educator in the Renton School District for nearly 50 years, including positions as a teacher and principal at Hazelwood Elementary School, the site where the new middle school is being built in Newcastle.
Risdon has also been a teacher at five different schools, principal at the Highlands and Hazelwood Elementary Schools, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Technology, Associate Superintended for Elementary Education, Assistant Superintendent and Interim Superintendent for RSD.
Risdon was instrumental in creating innovative programs and collaborative processes to ensure all children are given rich opportunities for a meaningful education. She helped oversee the rebuilding or remodel of schools in the district from 1993 through 2007 and the creation of the organization that support s technology implementation throughout the district. She spearheaded efforts to build and maintain robust music programs in the schools and helped create the H.O.M.E. program which provides homeschool opportunities for students and parents. She facilitated the extensive revision of the district’s master improvement plan and the development of professional learning communities throughout the district. She was known for her commitment to creating the supportive environments and positive relationships among staff and students that are necessary for successful change efforts.
Risdon is well-respected both in the district and throughout the state. From 2000 through 2011 she also worked as an education consultant, trainer, coach and mentor for school districts in the region, including serving at Dimmitt Middle School in Renton (2007-2011) and also in Auburn, Vashon and Everett, as well as with the Association of Washington State Principals, and the state’s education office.
