(Salem, Ore.) The Oregon Association of Central Office Administrators (OACOA) and the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators (COSA) have named Tiffanie Lambert, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning in the Phoenix-Talent School District, the recipient of the 2023 Achievement of Excellence Award.

Lambert is the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning for Phoenix-Talent Schools, and has worked to increase the graduation rates of students during the unprecedented times of the past several school years. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Lambert’s leadership helped connect students and families to services to assure student connection to learning. With the return to in-person learning, Lambert’s focus remained on connection and ensuring each learner is included in Phoenix-Talent Schools.

The Almeda Fire greatly impacted the region and Lambert’s leadership played a crucial part in providing students, families, and staff with services. She created a response team and went door to door to reach the more than 700 families of the Phoenix-Talent school community who were  displaced and helped connect families with health and emergency services.  “Tiffanie’s background was perfectly suited to the situation at hand and her ability to work well under pressure proved invaluable to our families during the Almeda fire recovery effort”, said Charlene Patten, Executive Assistant of Teaching and Learning. “What was a very chaotic situation could  have been much worse without Tiffanie's expertise in disaster recovery.”

Through the challenges of the pandemic and the fire, Phoenix-Talent’s 2021 graduating seniors achieved a 93% overall graduation rate, which was 10 points better than the state average. With a dedication to inclusion and instructional excellence, students with disabilities and Migrant students graduated at 91% and 100%, respectively.  Superintendent Brent Berry, noted, “These impressive benchmarks were met despite the fact that many of those graduates completed their  coursework from outside our district boundaries after being displaced by the fire.”
Lambert’s leadership has been instrumental to ensure a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment for students to thrive in school. “She empowers parent leaders, networked with key community partners, and genuinely cares about the students and families we serve,” said  Superintendent Berry.  Students, staff, and families have benefited from Lambert’s leadership,  dedication, and commitment to each learner.

“COSA is honored to recognize Tiffanie Lambert with the 2023 Achievement of Excellence Award,” said Craig Hawkins, COSA Executive Director. “She has demonstrated a commitment to removing barriers to serving students, families, and staff, and cares deeply about the inclusion of each learner in Phoenix-Talent Schools.” Lambert will be recognized at the COSA Annual Conference in Seaside, Oregon in June.