Jeanne Swift was hired this year by the Corbett School District to be the Student Services Director. She was born in Olympia, WA. She has a brother 20 years older and a sister 18 years older. Her younger sister is just one and a half years younger. Jeanne had a brother who was born between the older and younger siblings, but he died and there was never much conversation about his passing. Jeanne's mom stayed at home to raise the family. Her father was a Forester and an avid hunter and fisherman. There are many family memories of wet and cold camping trips! Jeanne was raised in a 100 year old farmhouse by parents that were impacted by the Depression. She began playing the violin in the 4th grade and also played the piano, and was active in Girl Scouts and ballet. Her father retired when Jeanne was in the 8th grade and they moved to Beaverton, Oregon. It was a culture shock for her parents to move to a city that seemed to be "progressive" compared to where they had lived previously. Jeanne and her sister loved it! Jeanne played the violin for the Portland Youth Philharmonic and was Principal Violinist for the youth version of the PYP. She graduated from Sunset High School in 1983 and then attended Oregon State Univ. to study Veterinary Medicine. She switched halfway through to minor in Elementary Education and major in Handicap Learner. She then received her Master's degree in 1987 in Special Education. Once she graduated, she moved to Boardman, OR. to teach Special Education. In the evenings, she taught ESOL (English as a Second Language). She also became involved with the community Latina events. On the weekends, Jeanne traveled to LaGrande to earn her Bi-Lingual ESOL endorsements. It was during her time in Boardman that she married and gave birth to two daughters. After eight years, she and her daughters moved to Hermiston and she began teaching Bi-Lingual Education for seven years. Jeanne then went on to the Univ. of Oregon where she earned her Administrative Licensure. She then moved to Portland with her daughters and began working for the Reynolds School District for eight years as the Student Services Director. She then was hired to be the MESD Special Education Coordinator for all the school districts for seven years. During these years, she also attended Lewis and Clark College's Doctoral Program where she earned her EDS in Education Leadership. She remarried in 2015 to a local fisherman who also works for the City of Gresham. She now has a stepdaughter and they all live in a newly purchased Corbett home. Jeanne says she looks forward to enjoying many years in the community and school and is focused on positive relationships and positive outcomes, giving students the best opportunities available.
