Cummings to lead WWCCF

Cummings named to lead Walla Walla Center for Children & Families

Current Director of Accelerated Learning and Support Brent Cummings has been named the Director of Walla Walla Center for Children & Families following an extensive selection process. Cummings replaces Samantha Bowen who recently accepted the statewide Executive Director of Early Learning for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The Walla Walla Center for Children & Families provides early learning services for youth and parents as a coordinated and comprehensive community learning hub located in the former Blue Ridge Elementary School. Programs include four-year-old kindergarten (Transitional Kindergarten), Head Start, ECEAP and a host of community and agency partners. Established in 2019, the center represents a decades-long community quest to help ensure all children enter kindergarten socially, emotionally and academically prepared.

"I am deeply honored and excited to continue to serve Walla Walla students and families in this leadership role,” said Cummings. “The opportunity to work with our youngest learners and their families is a special calling. Through the dedicated work of our tremendous teachers, educators, building staff and community partners, we will continue to expand upon the significant academic and social wellbeing foundations already established at the Walla Walla Center for Children & Families."

Due to his extensive grant management experience and program development skill set, Cummings was tapped two years ago to oversee the coordination and delivery of the district’s extensive federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund dollars to help address the impact of COVID on students. The district’s Summer SOL program, afterschool initiatives, and development of community partners such as Communities in Schools, are just a few of Cummings’ most recent accomplishments. Prior to his current position, he served as the district’s Director of 21st Century Afterschool Programs for eight years.

Cummings holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana where he also earned All-Academic Honors while playing on the men’s basketball team. Cummings and his wife Audra, a Walla Walla High School graduate and former district teacher, have four young children.

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