Sherry Ladd stepping down from Bellevue Schools Foundation

Bellevue Schools Foundation Executive Director Sherry Ladd believes now is as good a time as ever to step down from the position she has held for the past 15 years. Saying goodbye to a job she truly enjoys will not be easy for the Bellevue native, but Ladd feels confident in the strong leadership of the district.

"We have a wonderful new superintendent, a strong Bellevue School Board and great leadership in the Schools Foundation," she said. "Bellevue is a community where the School Board is on par with the district and the district wants the same things as the parents. The Bellevue Schools Foundation (BSF) branches over all three, building a very unique relationship that breeds success."

Raised in Bellevue schools, Ladd first joined the BSF as a volunteer after relocating to the Bellevue area from Japan. She was later hired on as an assistant to the executive director. Two years later, she stepped into the role of executive director and began to play a major role in the foundation's positive impact in the lives of the more than 17,000 students that make up the school district.

The BSF was founded in 1979 with a mission to promote and help fund the best possible learning opportunities for all students in the district. The foundation focuses primarily on academic rigor and fostering support for both teachers and students in Bellevue schools.

"The Bellevue Schools Foundation is an important addition to Bellevue schools because it reaches out to the broader community and not just to the parents of the kids in school," Ladd explained. "Everyone benefits from strong public schools. One of my favorite questions to ask people is, "Have you ever heard of a strong community that doesn't have good schools?" There just isn't such a thing."

Throughout the 15 years Ladd has served as executive director, she has overseen the funding of a number of major projects in the Bellevue schools including Project Read, Project Discovery and the Math Curriculum Project. The foundation is helping to raise financial support for the Differentiated Learning Initiative, a project implemented by school Supt. Amalia Cudeiro.

"If you study what most school foundations do across the country, you'll find that many of them are developed so they can fix the school district, but that's not the case in Bellevue. The Bellevue Schools Foundation was created to act as a support for the district and community. We are very fortunate."

The BSF works closely with the district to raise initial funds and support for academic-based projects depending on the current need of the schools and students. The BSF does not implement the projects and has the choice of which projects to support through fundraising and grants.

"One of the things I am so proud of is the solid relationship we have with the district. We are not a rubber stamp organization. When the district approaches us with an idea, we need to feel the community can get behind it and it is a worth while cause," she said.

For Ladd, the foundation's support of Project Read was one of the most rewarding experiences because of the positive impact it had on students in the district. At the time, the school district reported that 25 percent of students were reaching fourth grade, reading below grade level and about 20 percent of the district's kids were dropping out or not graduating, said Ladd.

"We were asked if we would be willing to help attack that problem," Ladd explained. "If kids aren't reading to learn by fourth grade, they are really in trouble. We helped the superintendent raise the money needed over a three-year period."

The BSF generates most of the funding through annual fundraiser events such as the Spring For Schools Luncheon and a phone-a-thon. Additional financial support comes from the corporate community and grant requests from other local foundations.

"I am proud of the work the foundation has accomplished over the years and I look forward to what's to come," Ladd said. "I may be stepping down from the executive director position, but I still plan to stay involved in some capacity."

Contact Bellevue Reporter Staff Writer Lindsay Larin at llarin@bellevuereporter.com or 425-453-4602.

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read.