Walla Walla Valley Education Association

12/20/2025

12/05/2025

Thursday's picketing at Frontier Middle School in Moses Lake was inspiring -- with a majority of cars driving by honking their support of teachers receiving a fair contract. I also saw union leaders from Pasco, Richland, Warden, and others joining the MLEA in solidarity. This won't end well for district leaders, but the students will ultimately reap the benefits in the long term.

12/04/2025

Solidarity with our colleagues in Moses Lake. They are on strike after working without a contract since September 1st!

Lake MLEA

03/04/2025

Today is a great day to celebrate public education as a founding principle of democracy in our nation.

If you are an educator -- or a supporter of public education -- please join me today in posting your Red for Ed photo with the hashtag .

02/21/2024

A great story of WEA's new teacher residency program, which we piloted this year in Walla Walla, Mukilteo, and Federal Way.

Next year it will expand into College Place, Pasco, and a few other districts.

Fed up with persistent special education teacher shortages, a group of Washington teachers is trying a new approach to building up this workforce.

10/26/2023

An endorsement from the Washington Education Association

10/19/2023

This is the final forum for the six Walla Walla School Board candidates. The questions begin at the 7-minute mark and run just over an hour total.

If you are short on time, you can see the final two questions for each candidate at 48:00. These final 20 minutes encapsulate the culture-war focus of Zana Carver, Kirk Jameson, and Chris Leyendecker. (This is their first and only forum, which was held at a private Christian school.)

Derek Sarley, Alayna Brinton, and Ruth Ladderud had already taken questions from the public at a variety of events. This night they focused primarily on student learning and the need to create safe spaces where all students feel they belong.

Check it out:

The six candidates running for Walla Walla Public School Board attended a Meet and Greet October 12, 2023. This event was held at DeSales High School. Each ...

10/03/2023

WWVEA HOSTS SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE FORUM

On Thursday, Sept. 28, WWVEA VP Andrew Gomsrud hosted three of the six school board candidates in the Wa-Hi Library, each of whom answered several questions that have been on the minds of educators.

Topics included student behavior, student learning, issues of equity, educator challenges, access to books, and sharing some positive reasons for sending students to WW schools.

The event lasted just over one hour and was filmed so WWVEA members and the community could view the responses. (Note: 19 of every 20 teachers in WW & CP -- 350 total -- have maintained their membership in the Walla Walla Valley Education Association.)
WWVEA does not endorse candidates and has provided this opportunity as a chance to learn more about the views of the WWPS candidates.

Three other candidates did not respond to multiple requests by Mr. Gomsrud to participate in this non-partisan event, which was designed as an opportunity to address questions from teachers.

Participating candidates were: Derek Sarley, Ruth Ladderud, and Alayna Brinton

Non-participating candidates were: Zana Carver, Kirk Jameson, and Chris Leyendecker.

Finally, for full context, here is the first of two invitations Mr. Gomsrud sent to the candidates on Sept. 5:

Dear WW School Board Candidates,

On behalf of the Walla Walla Valley Education Association, thank you for stepping up to run for elected office.

I am writing to invite you to participate in a candidate forum the Association will be hosting from 6-7 p.m. on Thursday, September 28. We wanted to create an opportunity for Walla Walla's educators to learn more about your priorities.

The "Candidate Forum Committee" members are still working out some of the details, but here is what we know so far:

*The moderation will be fair and objective and will be facilitated by one or more WWVEA members who have not already made any candidate endorsements.

*You will receive at least some of the questions in advance for your consideration and preparation, all of which will be generated by teachers.

*All candidates will be asked the same questions.

*The location of the event is still under consideration, as is the possibility of using Zoom.

*If any candidates are unable to attend on the 28th but wish to share their views in writing, a questionnaire will be emailed.

*A recording of the event will be shared with members, as will any questionnaires submitted to us.

Please let us know of your interest in the forum -- or of submitting a questionnaire -- no later than Friday, Sept. 15, and we'll send out more information to each of you who have responded.

Andrew Gomsrud
WWHS Social Studies Teacher and WWVEA Vice President

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AepXyspWgxg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AepXyspWgxg

The Walla Walla Valley Education Association represents nearly all of the 375 certificated educators in the Walla Walla Public Schools (19 out of every 20 te...