The Riverview School District is excited to introduce Dr. Sara Woolverton to the Riverview Community. Dr. Woolverton joins Riverview as the district’s next Director of Student Services, effective July 1, 2023.
Bringing decades of experience in special education, student advocacy, and district administration to her new role, Dr. Woolverton is excited about the new opportunities before her.
“I have been actively seeking a district with a true collaborative spirit,” she shares. “When I met with Riverview, I was impressed with the quality of the questions and subsequent discussions about what Riverview was seeking in a Student Services Director.”
With bachelor’s degrees in Special Education and Cultural Anthropology, Dr. Woolverton earned her master’s degree in Special Education and a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. In her early years as a special education teacher in Seattle Public Schools and the Edmonds School District, Dr. Woolverton spent two years as an educational researcher at the University of Washington, analyzing the merits and efficacy of interprofessional collaboration between educators, public health professionals, social workers, and support staff working with high-needs students and their families.
As a special education faculty and program advisor with Western Washington University, Dr. Woolverton designed a joint credentialing teacher education program, combining special education and ELL (English language learning), and has further mentored prospective teachers, administrators, and support staff in all aspects of special education support and services.
Dr. Woolverton has served as a Special Education Program Manager and Special Education Director with Seattle and Everett Public Schools, respectively, and spent six years as the Director of Special Education for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District in Santa Monica, California. In her two years as a Senior Director for Tri-Valley SELPA in Pleasanton, California, she led a Special Education Local Plan Area, spanning six districts and encompassing 37,000 students. With Tri-Valley SELPA she developed a new infant/parent support program, provided professional development opportunities, analyzed data to pinpoint areas for growth and development, reformed practices, and established financial safety nets for small districts.
At all times, Dr. Woolverton’s work remains centered around programmatic equity for all students. That commitment to equity has led to her serving, recently, as the Director of Special Education, Equity and Civil Rights, in Granite Falls School District and the Executive Director of Special Services in Snohomish School District since 2019.
“I want to be part of a community that has the desire to remove barriers to academic and social/emotional learning so that students feel welcome and excited to learn every day, teachers feel supported and empowered to teach them, and families trust the district to do what's right by their children. I am honored to have been selected as Riverview’s next Director of Student Services and cannot wait to begin working with my new team and community.”
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Sara Woolverton as Riverview School District’s next Director of Student Services!