Toppenish School District Announces Partnership with DECS to Provide Special Education Leadership

In recognition of the important role our Special Education program plays in supporting students and families, we are excited to share that Toppenish School District will partner with Dynamic Education Consulting & Solutions (DECS) to provide experienced Special Education leadership and support for our Toppenish schools. This partnership will help us continue strengthening our services so students receive high-quality instruction and support based on their individual strengths and needs.

The decision to partner with DECS came after thoughtful consideration of our current needs, a comprehensive search for Special Education leadership, and feedback from our staff and families. This partnership brings a high level of Special Education expertise and additional leadership support to Toppenish.

DECS is well known across Washington State for helping school districts improve Special Education programs and working through their challenging needs. Their team has supported districts making major improvements, including districts referred to them by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).

Toppenish is also currently completing a Special Education Program Review with the Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA). This review will help us better understand what is working well and where we can improve. DECS will use what we learn from this review, along with feedback from our staff and families, to look closely at how we use our resources, how our programs are organized, and the policies and practices that guide our work. This will help us make sure students have access to high-quality instruction and support designed around their individual strengths and needs.

DECS was founded by Dr. Sue Ann Bube, who has more than 20 years of experience across Washington State K–12 schools, state programs and higher education. While the full DECS team is available to support the work, Dr. Bube will personally oversee our Toppenish Special Education program. Dr. Bube and the DECS team bring strong experience in Special Education requirements, instruction, budgeting, staff support, family and community engagement, and planning for students as they move from school into life after graduation.

Dr. Bube will be joined by Kelley Clevenger, who will serve as our Special Education co-lead. Kelley brings more than 35 years of experience in public education, including 13 years leading Special Education departments in Washington. She most recently served as Executive Director of Special Services for Everett Public Schools and previously led Special Education for Bellevue School District.

Both Bube and Clevenger will be onsite in our Toppenish schools on a routinely scheduled basis and as needed, working directly with our staff and leaders, getting to know our school community, and continuing to strengthen support for students and families.

Through this partnership, Toppenish will have access not only to the leadership of Dr. Bube and Ms. Clevenger, but also to the experience and support of the larger DECS team. This allows us to increase Special Education leadership, make thoughtful improvements based on what we learn, and comes at a cost savings to the district.

We look forward to having Dr. Bube, Ms. Clevenger and the DECS team working alongside Team Toppenish as we continue building strong, consistent and responsive support for our students, staff and families.

Please help us give Dr. Bube and Ms. Clevenger a warm Wildcat welcome when you see them on our campuses!