A Century of Service

A Century of Service
Posted on 06/22/2026
NEWESD 101 is proud to celebrate five valued colleagues who have recently retired or will retire soon, together representing 107 years of service to students, schools, districts and families across northeast Washington.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to School Nurse Corps Director Alma McNamee, whose 25 years of service strengthened the SNC program through her grace, expertise and kindness; David Welch, whose 32 steady years as a school psychologist supporting special education teams brought calm, humor and deep commitment to rural districts; Juli Jones, whose 22 years as a Student Systems Analyst made her a trusted problem-solver for districts navigating complex student systems; Mary Hager, whose 16 years of technical expertise supported Skyward Qmlativ migrations, integrations and statewide WSIPC documentation; and Debra Kowalkowski, whose 12 years as Regional Mathematics Coordinator strengthened professional learning, the Fellows network and mathematics instruction across the region.

Their careers reflect the best of NEWESD 101: service, collaboration, expertise and a lasting commitment to helping others succeed. Through countless meetings, miles traveled, technical challenges, professional learning opportunities and moments of quiet support, Alma, Dave, Juli, Mary and Deb have each left a meaningful mark on our agency and the communities we serve.

We thank them for their dedication, celebrate their well-earned retirements and wish them joy in this next chapter.

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