Aberdeen Schools

Pictured above, from left, Rick Moore, Helen Donovan, Larry Fleming, Kevin Schjei and

Jaime Miranda. Not pictured: Poli Baltazar

Five former athletes and a coach were inducted into the Aberdeen Athletic Hall of Fame during ceremonies that took place Sept. 5 in the Auditorium at AHS.

Rick Moore, Class of 1977:

A running back and inside linebacker for Bobcat football, Moore was the leading rusher on the 1976 team that compiled an 8-1 season record. He was a first-team all-league selection as a linebacker and received the George Savage Most Valuable Player award as a senior. He was also a three-year letterman in track.

Moore started for three years at Western Washington University. He was an AHS football assistant for 12 years and was defensive coordinator on Bobcat teams that captured four consecutive league championships from 1994-97. After four years as Aberdeen’s head football coach, he spent 13 years as an assistant and head coach at Hoquiam High School, guiding the Grizzlies to state quarterfinal berths in 2015 and 2016.

Helen Donovan, Class of 1969:
Donovan was a standout in tennis when it was the only girls varsity sport offered at Aberdeen. She was unbeaten in singles as a junior and placed second in subdistrict competition. She also won the singles championship at the Catholic Youth Organization tournament in 1967.

She played intramural tennis at Oregon State University and then spent 30 years as a teacher and coach in the Longview School District, including 10 years as the head girls tennis coach at R.A. Long High School. Her teams captured three Greater St. Helens League championships.
In 2017, R.A. Long’s Invitational tournament was re-named the Helen Donovan Invitational..

Larry Fleming:
A graduate of Shelton High School and Central Washington University, Fleming became Aberdeen High School’s first girls soccer coach in 1992. He was named the head boys soccer coach in 2002.
Fleming coached boys soccer until retiring in 2026, leading the Bobcats to 11 league championships — including six consecutive titles from 2006 to 2011— and nine state playoff appearances. His 2007 team finished second in the state 2A tournament. He is a 10-time recipient of league coach of the year honors. He coached girls soccer from 1992-2003 and returned to the program in 2017. His girls teams made three state appearances.

Kevin Schjei, Class of 1998:
As a first baseman and pitcher, Schjei lettered for three years at Aberdeen, batting .571 as a senior to earn first-team all-league recognition. He also lettered for three years in basketball and one year in football.

Continuing his baseball career at Linfield College in Oregon, Schjei developed into one of the top hitters in school history. He batted .407 as a sophomore to earn all-conference recognition as a designated hitter. As a Linfield senior, he established school records in batting average, hits and doubles, and received first-team all-conference and second-team All-American honors. His .430 career batting average was the best in school history. In 2025, he was inducted into the Linfield College Hall of Fame.

Jaime Miranda, Class of 2013:
A heavyweight in wrestling, Miranda placed third in the state 2A meet as a junior and was the top-ranked performer in his classification for much of his senior year. He lettered for four years in football, earning all-league recognition as a nose guard during his junior year and also won a state high school powerlifting championship.

Miranda went on to wrestle four years for Central College in Iowa, finishing his college career with a 63-40 record. After joining the U.S. Marine Corps, he qualified for the U.S. Greco-Roman world team trials. Following a successful career as a high school coach in Iowa, he was named Central College’s head women’s wrestling coach in 2025. Drawing from his personal experiences, Miranda has received national recognition as a spokesman and advocate for students experiencing homelessness, housing instability and family loss.

Poli Baltazar, Class of 2013:
Unbeaten in cross country league meets as a junior and senior, Baltazar established 11 course records, including a record that captured the district 2A championship as a junior. He placed second at state his junior and senior years and qualified for the Foot Locker National Championships as a senior.
Baltazar was a two-district and all-county champion in the 3200 meters and twice placed third at state. He also set the school record for the 1,600 meters with a time of 4:14.

At Central Arizona College, he was a two-time junior college All-American in cross country, also earning All-American recognition in outdoor and indoor track. He was a member of the 2013 national JC cross country team championship and placed fifth in the 5,000 meters at the national outdoor JC championships.

Many thanks to the Hall of Fame Committee for its research and service in honoring these former Bobcats.

During the first week of school earlier this month, students in Janet Dayton's class at Miller Junior High School got a jump start on getting to know each other through a Towering Connections activity.

Breaking into groups, students talked amongst themselves and discovered shared traits. Each shared trait was written on an index card, which was then stacked into a tower. And, of course, the group with the tallest tower "won."

Principal John Meers said he enjoyed watching students take part in this activity. "One piece at a time, we learn that we are more alike, and that together we can be stronger and taller and win the challenge," he said.

Vice President Suzy Ritter convened the regular meeting of the Aberdeen School District Board of Directors at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 15, 2026, in the Community Room at Aberdeen High School. In attendance were Directors Mardi Emard-Colburn, Jeanne Marll and Annica Mizin, along with Co-Superintendents Lynn Green and Traci Sandstrom, and 15 patrons and staff. President Jennifer Durney and student representatives Leticia Alvarenga and Kassandra Kumarasinghe were excused. A work-study for the purpose of discussing a book on math instruction and fluency began at 5 p.m.

The meeting began with the flag salute.

Consent Agenda

The Board approved the Consent Agenda, which included:

• The minutes from the regular meeting on September 1, 2026,
• The payroll vouchers totaling $4,629,960.47 for August 2026,
• General Fund vouchers totaling $1,744,440.17, ASB Fund vouchers totaling $12,163.24, Capital Projects Fund vouchers totaling $397,947.84, a Transportation Vehicle Fund voucher in the amount of $171,414.36 and Private Purpose Trust Fund vouchers totaling 414,903.00, and
• A gift to the district of $4,000 for Snug Harbor from the Abel-Weatherwax Foundation and the Paige Hounsely fund at the Grays Harbor Community Foundation.

Comments from the Board

Director Mizin commented that she is figuring out how the high school operates now that she’s a parent of a student at AHS and it’s been positive. Director Emard-Colburn commented that two of her students took part in the Loggers Playday parade and it was very nice to see the large number of students from Aberdeen participating.

Superintendent Reports

Seismic Safe Schools and Capital Projects – Manny Saldivar-Aguirre of the ESD 112 Construction Services Group provided an update on the capital projects that took place over the summer. He noted that the roof for the new outcrop for the shop at Aberdeen High School should be complete this week.

• The Board approved an agreement with TCF Architecture for an additional fee to cover updating the design documents for the new Harbor Learning Center to accommodate the findings in the geo-tech soils report.

School Board Trainings – Superintendent Sandstrom shared information about three required trainings for Board members – open public meetings, tribal consultation and education equity.

Student Representatives – The superintendents and Board discussed the selection process for new student representatives that will begin later this month.

Board Work-study – The superintendents discussed the upcoming Board work-study scheduled for 9-11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26. The focus will be technology and its role in a high quality education in the Aberdeen School District.

Financial Services

Executive Director of Business and Operations Elyssa Louderback presented the Fiscal Status Report for August.

New Business

Garley Park Easement Extension

The Board approved a five-year extension to the easement allowing the City of Aberdeen to operate Garley Park on district-owned property in South Aberdeen.

Juvenile Court Truancy Agreement

The Board approved renewal of the agreement with Grays Harbor Juvenile Court to operate the truancy intervention and community engagement program in 2026-2027.

Aberdeen-Hoquiam Transportation Co-op

The Board approved renewal of the agreement with the Hoquiam School District to operate the transportation cooperative.

YMCA of Grays Harbor Swim Contract

The Board approved a contract with the YMCA of Grays Harbor for use of the swimming facility for therapy, the swim team, the elementary swim program and preschool family nights in 2026-2027.

YMCA Data Sharing Agreement

The Board approved a data sharing agreement with the YMCA of Grays Harbor for the swim programs in 2026-2027.

Surplus Bus

The Board declared as surplus a 2009 International Special Needs Bus with 149,000 miles as recommended by the Transportation Department.

Personnel Report

Following an executive session, the Board approved the following personnel matters:

• Personnel Report,
• 2026-2029 Aberdeen Education Association Agreement
• 2026-2027 PSE Letter of Agreement
• 2026-2027 PSE Salary Schedule Revision

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

The next regular meeting of the School Board is at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, in the Community Room at Aberdeen High School. A work-study for discussion about a book on math instruction and fluency will begin at 5 p.m.

Those who attend regular meetings are welcome to sign up at the meeting to provide public comment on agenda items. Written public comment for the record can also be submitted up to noon the day of the meeting by writing to schoolboard@asd5.org. Comments or concerns not on the agenda can be brought to the attention of the district by contacting the Superintendents' Office or by contacting individual board members.

The district migrated over the summer to an updated version of Skyward called QMLATIV -- or just Q, for short. We hope this toolkit helps you get the most out of the new system.

• Office Hours: 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• (360) 538-2130 / Principal Serena O'Neill

Central Park Elementary School / 601 School Road

• Office Hours: 8:15 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• (360) 538-2170 / Principal Ruth Erwin-Svoboda

McDermoth Elementary School / 409 North K St.

• Office Hours: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• (360) 538-2120 / Principal Amber Melville

Robert Gray Elementary School / 1516 North B St.

• Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
• (360) 538-2140 / Principal Daniel Olson

Stevens Elementary School / 301 S. Farragut

• Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• (360) 538-2150 / Principal Tosha Love

Harbor Learning Center / 300 North Williams

• Office Hours: 7:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
• (360) 538-2180 / Principal Lisa Griebel

Miller Junior High School / 100 E. Lindstrom

• Office Hours: 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
• (360) 538-2100 / Principal John Meers

Aberdeen High School / 410 North G St.

• Office Hours: 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• (360) 538-2040 General / Principal Aaron Roiko
• (360) 538-2060 Attendance Line

• Co-Superintendent Lynn Green, lgreen@asd5.org
  Co-Superintendent Traci Sandstrom, tsandstrom@asd5.org

• Business Office, Elyssa Louderback, elouderback@asd5.org
• Human Resources, Christi Clinkingbeard, cclinkingbeard@asd5.org
• Special Education, Stefanie Lamont, slamont@asd5.org
  
• Career & Technical Education, Lynn Green, lgreen@asd5.org
• Teaching, Learning & Technology, Traci Sandstrom, tsandstrom@asd5.org
• Food Services, Jaime Matisons, jmatisons@asd5.org

Keeping our youth safe online is a priority. Check out the resources gathered by the Harbor Strong coalition to help in this effort.

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