Carlene Ogren, NWESD Regional Teacher of the Year
Elementary Learning Assistance Program (LAP) Teacher Carlene Ogren is the 2027 Northwest Educational Service District 189 Regional Teacher of the Year!
Carlene teaches Tier 2 services for reading and math in Oak Harbor Public Schools.
“Carlene Ogren exemplifies the very best of what it means to be an educator in Washington State,” Jenny Hunt, the principal at Broad View Elementary School in Oak Harbor, wrote in her letter of support. “Her expertise, heart, and tireless commitment to students, colleagues, and families make her an exceptionally deserving candidate for this honor. I give her my strongest and most wholehearted recommendation.”
Throughout her application, Carlene highlights relationships with families as a huge part of what she does.
“Creating meaningful connections between students’ educational experiences and their broader world begins with authentic teacher-student relationships,” she wrote. “Once trust is built, students engage more with their school community, sharing their family and cultural backgrounds, and participating in local initiatives.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Carlene focused on making sure students’ basic needs were met so they could better engage with academic learning. To do that, she delivered food to students and their families, made home visits to teach families how to access remote learning tools, and conducted wellness checks to help families with attendance challenges.
Carlene works to coordinate support for clothing items like jackets and backpacks for students who need them and works with other partners to make sure homeless students have support they need. She also works with other service organizations to help benefit students.
As a Navy wife, Carlene also brings first-hand knowledge of the challenges that military families face, something that is very common in the Oak Harbor community.
“That perspective shapes my communication with military families,” she said in her application. “I offer flexible meeting times, understanding around absences and transitions, and practical support during deployments. I ensure my availability to discuss school-related concerns with military families, help translate school expectations across moves, and connect families to base and community resources so students remain supported academically and emotionally.”
A parent, Keri Totten, wrote a letter of support. Keri writes about her two sons, both of whom had Carlene as a teacher. She said Carlene shows up outside of school, showing up at sporting events and supporting the students in ways that are not just in a classroom. She also gave Keri’s younger son, who struggles with academics, extra support.
“I wholeheartedly recommend Carlene Ogren for the Teacher of the Year Award,” Keri wrote. “She is an exceptional educator, a tireless advocate, and a true champion for her students. Any child fortunate enough to be in her classroom benefits from her unwavering commitment and care. Her lasting influence continues to shape my sons’ confidence and love of learning today.”
As part of her application, Carlene described a hands-on science lesson that demonstrated forces and their interaction. Throughout the lesson she used varied activities, like rolling toy cars across carpet, tile, or sandpaper to show how surface affects speed, distance, and acceleration.
“Hands-on investigation was intentional: it levels the playing field,” Carlene wrote in her application. “Emerging readers and multilingual learners were not sidelined by dense text; minimal reading meant the cognitive load of language was reduced, and observations, measurements, and explanations became the focus. Students worked in pairs and small groups, naturally scaffolding one Movement-centered tasks supported students with attention challenges, increasing engagement and retention. Multilingual learners contributed meaningfully through demonstration, drawing, and gesture when precise English eluded them.”
Carlene said she wants to prioritize access and dignity with her lessons.
Carlene shared in her application, “I structured tasks so every student could contribute, used visuals and physical models alongside concise vocabulary anchors, and led discussion-rich debriefs where students described observations, hypothesized causes, and justified conclusions. Hands-on work generated authentic questions and deeper conversations that extended learning beyond procedural steps.”
“Creating multiple entry points, including touch, spoken explanation, drawing and measuring, meant kids could discover new abilities, enhance communication skills, collaborate, and think more deeply,” she said.
“This unit reveals my core beliefs: all students can learn when instruction meets them where they are; flexibility in modality uncovers strengths that traditional reading- and writing-centered models can obscure; and collaborative, evidence-based inquiry builds both content knowledge and essential skills,” Carlene wrote.
In her application, Carlene highlighted how making connections with students and their families and community at large is essential to her success.
If selected as the Teacher of the Year for Washington State, Carlene wrote in her application that her platform would cover the “sobering reality we face.” She added that “According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, in 2024 only 31% of fourth graders and 30% of eighth graders were reading at proficiency levels. We know that behind those statistics are real children in our classrooms who struggle daily. From kindergarten through twelfth grade, this challenge affects every subject area, every tier of instruction, every moment of learning.”
She said she understands how heavy this responsibility can feel and provided tips for how to approach these students when there is not a moment to lose.
“Here’s what I want you to remember: before we can teach a child, they must trust us. Before they will believe in themselves, we must believe in them,” she said. “Relationships are not just nice-to-haves — they are necessities for success. I have witnessed struggling students flourish when other approaches failed, simply because I took time to build genuine connections with them first. When students feel seen, heard, and valued, learning becomes possible. According to John Hattie’s research, teachers believing in their students and student self-efficacy are among the highest influences on student achievement.”
Relationships extend beyond the classroom and can make a huge difference in students’ lives, especially around the reading crisis.
“We are not powerless. Our greatest tool isn’t a new curriculum or assessment — it’s our capacity to connect, to care, and to create communities where every child can thrive,” Carlene said.
Congratulations, Carlene! Thank you for your hard work.
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The Regional Teacher of the Year program celebrates educators who exhibit exceptional teaching skills and provides them with a platform to advocate for educational issues close to their hearts.
Carlene’s achievement as a regional winner now positions her to compete against eight other finalists from Educational Service Districts across Washington State for the title of 2027 State Teacher of the Year. The Washington Teacher of the Year program, overseen by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), recognizes educators who demonstrate exemplary teaching practices and make a significant impact on students’ lives.
Learn more: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/educator-support/awards-recognition/educator-awards/teacher-year
Located in Anacortes, the NWESD is one of nine Educational Service Districts in Washington State. The NWESD serves school districts, tribal compact schools, public charter schools, private schools, and early learning partners in Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, Island, and San Juan counties, providing leadership and cooperative services to the educational communities in the northwest region.
