Earlier this week, the 2025 Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA) Honorary Awards Luncheon was held in Spokane. WASA’s most prestigious state-level awards and scholarships were presented to outstanding educational leaders, including Kelso Superintendent Mary Beth Tack.
Superintendent Tack received the WASA Learning from Leaders Award. This recognition is given to a WASA member for leadership of an exemplary program others can learn from that has, among other things, significantly improved student learning and engagement.
Under the leadership and direction of Superintendent Mary Beth Tack, a movement involving the efforts of 18 staff—Freshman Student Success Team— has transformed achievement in Kelso. By employing early interventions, data-driven strategies, and building whole-student systems of support impacting over 350 ninth graders annually, Kelso’s freshman on-track rates soared from 66% (2022) to 91.1% at the end of the 2024-25 winter trimester. With the overarching goal of helping all students succeed, Kelso has developed a process that can be replicated in other districts across the state.
For this same impactful program, Tack was awarded the regional WASA Student Achievement Leadership Award in May at ESD 112. As part of the Learning from Leaders Award, Tack will also receive a $5,000 grant to further enhance this innovative program.