Clackamas ESD welcomed Larry Didway as its new superintendent July 1, 2021. Larry came to us after a long career in the Oregon City School District, most recently serving 10 years as superintendent. We asked him to share more about his background, as well as his thoughts about his new role serving 10 regional school districts.
Q: Larry, you’ve had a long career in education. What stands out?
A: Being an educator is something that I did not initially set out to become. I really thought I was going to go into law. I came into my career in education almost accidentally. In every role, I have felt extremely fulfilled both professionally and personally because of the ability to connect with amazing human beings – students, families and staff alike. I’ve had the opportunity to serve as a teacher in a number of classroom settings (elementary, middle and high school), along with getting to serve in a number of administrative roles, as a human resources director, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent. All the roles have allowed me to make meaningful contributions to my community, which really fills my cup.
Q: What inspired you to get into this field of work?
A: My origin story is I was a political science major at Willamette University and was nearly finished with all my degree requirements. I needed to collect a few elective credits to be done. My advisor happened to be a retired school superintendent who was also a professor at Willamette University. He encouraged me to sign up for a combined degree program in education. He said, “Give this a shot and if you like it, come back and finish the program. If not, you’ll be a better citizen because of it.” So I took his advice and was assigned to a fourth-grade classroom at Highland Elementary in Salem with 24 students. Over half of the students spoke English as a second language, and many had a parent incarcerated nearby. The group of kids there embedded themselves into my heart and inspired me to be a teacher, and I never looked back. I decided to complete the program and make it my career.
Q: You had a lengthy and successful career in the Oregon City School District. What interested you in working at Clackamas Education Service District?
A: I’ve always described myself as not being ready to get out of the car or get off the highway, but I knew I was ready for a new challenge. So I describe this new role as staying in the car, staying on the highway, but being able to change lanes. The thing that attracted me to this work was my deep care about my community. I was born and raised in this area. My career has been here. I’ve raised two children in this place, and both my kids graduated from Oregon City High School. During my tenure as Oregon City School District superintendent, I always valued my connections with Clackamas ESD and the service that came from it. I always saw the ESD as a resource that helped me improve and do my work better as a teacher, a principal and as a superintendent. I was attracted to the ability to have an impact on the entire region and to help each district be its best. I really see ESDs in particular as grounded in service. Service is something that feeds my soul.
Q: What have you learned in this new role? How is it different from being a district superintendent?
A: The pandemic has shined a light on how important our connections and relationships are with each other, along with the need for collaborating and supporting one another, which has never been more important. In this new role, and during this challenging time, we have been able to focus more on that. Even in my long history of connection to Clackamas ESD, I can relate to the common phrase, “You still don’t know what you don’t know.” There are things that the ESD does that I didn’t know we do here! I have a better understanding of just how complex the work is, with the services, the scheduling and the constant demands. There is a level of complexity to ESDs with all the individualized and specialty supports. We have a lot of employees here who represent the only person who does their job. MOST of the people who work here are the only person who does their job, as opposed to a school district where you have an array of classroom teachers, principals and people with similar work experiences.
Q: In your opinion, what value does Clackamas ESD bring to the region?
A: One of the reasons we exist is to help school districts provide opportunities to all kids and do that in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible. But in addition, I think we also offer the opportunity to innovate services and be responsive and nimble when certain needs emerge. We know that things are always changing during this era of COVID. Our context changes constantly and there are new needs that require new innovations. The ESD can play a role in leading those conversations and piloting ideas to surface new kinds of opportunities for services or products for our schools and students.
Q: What are your goals and vision for Clackamas ESD?
A: I think CESD has a great mission statement that says it all: “Lead, serve and innovate for learning.” My goal and vision for the ESD are to embody the mission through our work and services. We want to lead by developing leaders and being future-focused, responsive and proactive to what we see coming our way. We want to serve by responding to the needs that are expressed by our local communities, our region and each district. And we want to innovate by creating new solutions, tools and strategies through collaboration to fulfill our mission of serving and reaching all.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish this year?
A: This school year, we want to maintain continuity and stability of services for our school districts during this difficult period of time. We want to continue being a valuable resource to them. We just acquired a building that is adjacent to our campus where we hope to integrate community engagement and learn how we can best utilize the space to enrich and expand our early childhood services, through early learning opportunities, model classrooms and child care. We are very excited about bringing this building and project to life this year.
Q: If there is one message you would like to share with the community, what would it be?
A: We want to be guided by our mission of leadership, service and innovation. We want to be that resource to you that helps serve every single child. We have a dream that every student has what they need to reach their full human potential. The ESD will play whatever role our community needs to help make that happen. We have great community partnerships and outstanding school leadership, and I am honored to be a part of it.
Q: What is something you learned and have carried with you throughout your career?
A: I have a framed quote that has sat on my desk ever since my first year as a teacher. The quote is from Ralph Waldo Emerson, which reads, “The secret to education is respecting the pupil.” That quote has been a reminder to me to always anchor my decisions, thoughts and actions on respecting the student, their needs and who they are as a human being. Respect is where it all starts and that guides all of my decision-making.
Q: Outside of your work, what are your personal interests?
A: I enjoy traveling. I traveled a lot during the early stages of my teaching career. I lived in Japan for three years, had a teaching stint in Australia, and traveled throughout Africa and southeast Asia. Traveling is something that I have done much less of recently, but hope to do more of. I enjoy being with my family and spending a lot of time outdoors. I enjoy kayaking, paddle boarding and getting on trails. I try to hike every week. During my time in Japan, I learned the word shinrin-yoku, which translates to “forest bathing” (or “taking in the forest”). Forest bathing helps me to clear my head and stay connected to what really matters.
