CLASS Coaches

Linda Borquist
Linda has a 32-year career in public education, mostly in Oregon. Linda has taught at every level of schooling elementary, middle, secondary and at the university. She has been a teacher, vice-principal, principal, director of personnel, and associate superintendent for HR. In 2005, Linda was selected as Administrator of the Year in Beaverton.

Linda currently teaches administrative licensure classes for Lewis and Clark College in the areas of personnel and board relations, communication/public engagement, teacher evaluation/performance improvement, and ethics, policy, and the law. She is also the Central Oregon regional coordinator for Lewis and Clark College.

Linda has extensive experience in human resources, including negotiations/contracts, professional development, risk management, hiring, and personnel issues. She conducts superintendent searches for the Oregon School Boards Association and is a certified trainer in collaborative bargaining and in Charlotte Danielson’s evaluation model.

Linda holds a master’s in education and a doctorate of education with emphasis in educational leadership and administration.

Linda lives in Sisters, Oregon.

Jorie Ellis
Jorie has a 32-year career in public education in Oregon. She has been a classroom teacher at the elementary and high school levels working with both regular and special education students. As a district level administrator, she has held a variety of directorships including school improvement, special education, staff development, and curriculum. Jorie retired from the Lake Oswego School District as the executive director supervising K-12 principals, special education, curriculum, and educational programs.

Currently she is an adjunct professor at the University of Portland teaching graduate level courses in leadership, effective instructional strategies, and special education. She also maintains an education consulting practice.

Jorie has extensive experience in leadership development, performance based evaluation systems for teachers and administrators, special education, curriculum development and renewal processes, and professional development focused on research-based effective instructional practices for improving student achievement. She has worked with Chalkboard CLASS and TIF districts on designing and implementing performance-based evaluation systems; teaching administrators and teachers to understand the components of Charlotte Danielson’s framework for professional practice; and teaching administrators to analyze classroom instruction and conduct instructional conferences for teacher growth.

Jorie holds a doctorate in education with an emphasis on educational policy, leadership, and management.

Jorie lives in Portland, Oregon.

Kathy McCollum

Kathy McCollum has devoted her 37-year career to public education in Southern Oregon.  Most recently, Kathy has served as the Director of School Improvement for the Southern Oregon ESD, where she was responsible for assisting regional school districts in Jackson, Josephine, and Klamath Counties with ODE compliance, AYP consultation, Curriculum and Assessment, Migrant Education/ELL, and Career and Technical Education.  Before her time with the Southern Oregon ESD, Kathy worked for the Medford School District, serving as interim Superintendent, Director of Elementary Education, Supervisor of Curriculum and Staff Development, and as an elementary school principal.  She also spent 12 years as a classroom teacher within the Medford School District.

Kathy currently lives in Medford, Oregon and works part-time as the Director of Special Programs (Special Education, TAG, ELL/Migrant Ed, and Homeless students) for the Rogue River School District.

Donna Smith
Donna has a 40-year career in public education spanning from Alaska to Idaho, Washington, and for the past 12 years, Oregon. Donna has taught every level—elementary, middle, high school, and university. She has served as a teacher, a staff development and reading specialist, a vice principal, principal, and district level administrator. Most recently Donna served as the CLASS Project manager for the Sherwood School District.

Donna has extensive experience as a national consultant in the areas of effective instruction as well as professional development and curriculum design. She is recognized for her skill as a specialist in effective literacy program development and implementation. She has also developed supervision and evaluation trainings for administrators.

Donna holds a master’s degree from Western Washington University.

Donna lives in Lake Oswego.

Julie Smith
Julie Smith has spent the past decade in various educational leadership roles helping to raise student achievement in her schools through the support of teaching and learning. She began as a teacher leader and instructional coach moving to an administrative role as a Professional Development Specialist with the Evergreen School District. Julie is certified in cognitive coaching, has extensive experience in the implementation of professional learning communities and the creation of job-embedded professional development.

Julie has supported the design and implementation of a comprehensive math program with instructional practices focused on student discourse. She has a deep understanding of formative assessment and using data to inform teaching and learning. Throughout her career she has been successful at connecting the coaching and evaluation experience for teachers, making both collaborative, supportive and relevant.

With a master’s in education administration from Washington State University, Julie is drawn to the CLASS project because she believes that true reform needs to be designed by teachers. She also believes that all of Oregon’s students deserve a great teacher.

Julie lives in Portland, Oregon.

Deborah Sommer
Deborah Sommer, Oregon’s Superintendent of the year in 2006, has a 37 year career in public education, mostly in Oregon. Deborah has taught at every level of schooling — elementary, middle, secondary and at the university. She has been a teacher, staff development specialist, vice-principal, principal, curriculum director and school superintendent.

Deborah has extensive experience in curriculum development, including power standards, curriculum mapping and curriculum audits. She is a specialist in relationship building and conflict resolution, including staff relationships, principal and staff issues, contract negotiations, building parent and community support for schools, boundary changes, bond measures and budgets.

Deborah holds a masters in education and a doctorate of education with emphasis on curriculum and instruction.

Deborah lives in Newberg, Oregon.

Candace Stevens
Candace has a 31-year career in public education in Oregon. She has taught at the elementary and middle school level as a Special Education and Chapter 1 Reading Teacher, a Teacher on Special Assignment, and an Elementary Head Teacher, and an Adjunct Instructor. Candace was an elementary principal in three schools in the Beaverton School District for 21 years in both Title I and highSES schools. Most recently she was the Administrator for Professional Development for the Beaverton School district for 3 years. In this role Candace managed the Nike School Innovation Fund Grant and Beaverton’s Leadership Academy program.

Candace has experience and expertise in instructional coaching, supervision an evaluation, curriculum alignment, leadership coaching and mentoring, new staff induction, and the use of data and Professional Learning Communities.

Candace’s passion is learning. She attended the Instructional Rounds Institute at Harvard in 2009 and facilitated a Rounds Network in Beaverton. Candace graduated from the National Staff Development Council’s 2010 Academy where her problem of practice was implementing Professional Learning Communities across 51 schools. She has deep connections with a national network of professional developers and educational leaders. Candace is an adjunct instructor at Marylhurst University in the Teacher Leader Certification Program.

Candace lives in Portland, Oregon.