The Newberg School Board swore in its newest member on July 25. Brandy Penner is representing Zone 2, replacing Polly Peterson who resigned her position because she moved out of Zone 2.

Penner's three children attend Ewing Young Elementary.

From the Newberg Graphic:

​Penner was the only applicant for the position, but Board Chair Todd Thomas said she is strong candidate nonetheless.

"She had a great application," Thomas said. "The interview — there were about four or five us that interviewed her two weeks prior — went really well. She's deeply involved, deeply passionate, but understands the broad view that the board has to have. She doesn't have an agenda. She feels like a very good fit."

A native of Vancouver, Wash., Penner and her husband, Miles, moved to Newberg from Portland about a year ago. She has been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years but has a background in social work and received her bachelor's degree from Washington State University.

"I've worked with some struggling populations," Penner said. "I guess what I'm bringing to the board in that sense is I'm cognizant of the fact that 46 percent of the district comes from low-income families and maybe there are things going on at home that we don't know all about, so we need to be aware of those kids, especially."

Penner has been active in her children's schools, including through parent-teacher groups, for the past four years and is a big fan of the staff at Ewing Young.

"I love that they're learning how to be citizens of the world and that seemed to be a big emphasis out here," Penner said. "I just wanted to support that and see it grow. I feel like there are so many things going right and I just want to make sure that continues and that it gets better and better. It's really exciting to be a part of that."

Penner said that she quickly developed an appreciation for the size of the district compared to Portland Public Schools and thinks that will help her make the transition from school-level volunteer work to the much broader and "zoomed-out" policy work she will undertake as a member of the board.

"Being on that larger platform, I think I'm going to learn a lot in the next two years," Penner said. "But it's exciting, not daunting, I think."

Thomas said that all members of the board will make themselves available to Penner for guidance or as mentors and she can also utilize resources and training from the Oregon School Board Association to help get her up to speed.

"I think we've got a pretty good plan to get new members up to speed," Thomas said. "We will also do a board retreat that will at least be an opportunity for Brandy to spend some time with the existing members and get to know them a little better and start familiarizing herself with the things we are focusing on at that moment."