Her commitment to equity in public school education for a wide diversity of student populations, however, started early in her career. She studied psychology and education in her college career in the 1960’s and received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1972. She has been a teacher and principal in special education and has trained teachers how to design and implement instruction for minority, inner-city students; she also taught psychology and child development at the university level.
Bette has worked in Seattle, Vashon Island, and Highline School District as a Psychologist and Assistant Superintendent. She also worked as Deputy Superintendent for Puget Sound Educational Services District overseeing service delivery to all the schools in King and Pierce counties. Bette’s firm belief is that no matter where students come from, public schools should be able to move them forward and provide them with the necessary skills to have a successful life in the 21st century.
Highlights of Bremerton School District accomplishment under Dr. Hyde’s leadership include an award-winning Early Childhood partnership, All-Day Kindergarten, and significant improvement in student learning in the elementary schools. The Bremerton School District has been awarded a mentoring grant with the African American community, a West Sound Educational Leadership Consortium with Olympic College and other regional school districts, and the designation of Lighthouse District for its student-advising program. Dr. Hyde has been awarded the 2005 Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA) Student Achievement Award and the 2006 WASA Statewide Leadership Award, and was appointed by Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire to serve on the highly publicized Washington Learns Advisory. In 2006, Bette was an invited speaker at the Oxford University Educational Roundtable (United Kingdom).