Terry Bergeson | |
|---|---|
| 13thWashington Superintendent of Public Instruction | |
| In office January 15, 1997 – January 14, 2009 | |
| Governor | Gary Locke Christine Gregoire |
| Preceded by | Judith Billings |
| Succeeded by | Randy Dorn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1942-10-05)October 5, 1942 (age 83) Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence(s) | Olympia, Washington, U.S. |
| Education | Emmanuel College (BA) Western Michigan University (MA) University of Washington (PhD) |
| Occupation | Teacher |
Teresa M. Bergeson (born October 5, 1942) is a former three-termWashington State Superintendent of Public Instruction.[1]
Dr. Bergeson graduated fromEmmanuel College in 1964 with a B.A. in English. In 1969, she earned a master's degree in counseling and guidance fromWestern Michigan University. She earned her doctoral degree from theUniversity of Washington.[2]
Bergeson worked as a counselor atLincoln High School inTacoma, Washington, and as a teacher andguidance counselor inMassachusetts andAlaska. During this period Bergeson served as chair of theNational Education Association's Women's Caucus and implemented their National Women's Leadership Training Project. In 1981 Bergeson was elected vice-president of theWashington Education Association, and in 1985 she was elected president.
In 1989, she was hired as an executive director in theCentral Kitsap School District 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 ofstatewide standards for students, as well as theWashington Assessment of Student Learning.
In 1996, Bergeson launched her first successful bid for the non-partisan office ofWashington State Superintendent of Public Instruction. She was re-elected in 2000 and 2004.[3][4] As superintendent Bergeson led further development of statewide standards andstandardized tests, particularly after the Commission on Student Learning was dissolved in 1999.[5]
In 2008, Bergeson was defeated in her run for a fourth term as Superintendent of Public Instruction by challengerRandy Dorn.