Omar Flores

Currently Interim Director of Student Support at Olympia School District. Responsible for oversite of Director of Student Support Secondary, Director of Elementary Education, and provide oversite for 504 coordination for OSD.

Responsible for 10 elementary schools, including developmental learning centers (DLC's), Life Skills, and Emotionally Behaviorally Disabled programs. Provide supervision for school psychologists and SLP's for the district, and other special education specialists (DOHH, TVI's, Para Professionals etc.).

Other responsibilities include: overseeing medically fragile students (Ashley House), private schools, home hospital, and ORLA (Olympia Regional Learning Center), which includes Montessori, hConnect (homeschool), virtual learning academy.

• Effective in leading teams to consensus
• Manage time efficiently in order to complete all tasks within deadlines.
• Have provided strong communication and organizational skills when leading daily operations for the department
• Exercise leadership capabilities by successfully motivating and inspiring others.
• Demonstrate leadership skills in managing projects from concept to completion
• Effectively identify issues, analyzed information and provided solutions to problems
• Cultivate a positive work environment that fosters employee engagement, increased retention rates, and boosted overall team morale
• Strengthened internal controls by reviewing existing policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements
• Transformed organizational culture to embrace continuous improvement, leading by example and mentoring teams

Employed by Tumwater School District and held the position of Assistant Director of Special Services. My responsibilities included the supervision of six elementary school, the Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC) and the LINCS 18-21 Transition Program.

The ECLC’s focus was the identification and education of students with developmental delays in preparation for Kindergarten. The LINCS program, was a program focusing on serving young adults in preparation for employment and successful introduction into the community.

I was also responsible for supervising OT/PT's, SLP's, High School Life Skills, and the evaluation of ESA specialists, Certificated Teachers, and Paraprofessionals. My role also included oversite for restraint and isolation trainings and reporting, Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DFF) and Audiology, Parentally Placed Home and Private School Students, and organizing Extended School Year (ESY).

• Oversaw the recruitment, hiring, and onboarding process for new educators to maintain a high-quality teaching staff.
• Streamlined communication between teachers, parents, and administrators to foster a collaborative learning environment.
• Mentored new teachers through observation, feedback, and professional development opportunities.
• Fostered a positive school culture by promoting open communication among staff members and celebrating successes together as a team.
• Developed strong relationships with community partners to enhance educational opportunities for students.

I served as principal at Winlock Miller Elementary School and the Winolequa Learning Academy for the Winlock School District from 2018-2020. At the time of my employment, I worked with the comprehensive reform committee to increase academic achievement for all students. I worked closely with OSPI and collaborated with specialized coaches to support the team in the development of strategies aimed at school improvement. I was also in process of developing a school improvement plan to support WSD out of its comprehensive status. I also functioned as WSD’s Director of Special Education.

• Monitored student behavior and enforced discipline policies.
• Fostered a positive learning environment by promoting open communication among staff, students, and parents.
• Performed classroom evaluations to assess teacher strategies and effectiveness.
• Led school improvement efforts by setting clear expectations for staff performance and providing regular feedback on progress towards goals.
• Increased teacher effectiveness through comprehensive coaching, professional development opportunities, and mentorship programs.

Employed at OSD for one school year. Work experience was related to the typical experiences of a school psychologist (evaluating students, IEP meetings, collaboration with administration and staff, interventions etc.). I was stationed at three schools and was responsible for case managing a team of sped specialists, and initiating a system wide approach to intervention. I was the recipient of the “Dream Team” award from the district for my work with Madison Elementary’s Multidisciplinary Team.