A Message from Superintendent Greg Baker

Dear Cordata staff and families,

As you heard yesterday, Craig Baldwin has accepted the position of interim principal of Shuksan and Eva Warner Chazo will be the interim principal at Cordata for next school year.

As you may know, Eva has been assistant principal at Cordata since 2021, working closely with Dr. Baldwin. Eva has worked as a Special Education teacher and AVID teacher at Fairhaven Middle School and Happy Valley Elementary School. Eva began her teaching career in 2005 in North Carolina as a Special Education teacher at both the middle and high school level.

Eva received her administrative certificate from Western Washington University in 2021. She has a master’s degree in Special Education from Western Carolina University and a master’s degree in English/Language Arts from North Carolina State University. She is currently enrolled in WWU’s Educational Leadership doctorate program.

Eva is a strong equity advocate and believes in listening to the needs of students, families and staff to work together to create systems that best benefit learners. She has built strong relationships with staff, students and families, and she is looking forward to continuing to build authentic engagement across the Cordata community. In April 2025, Eva received recognition in our annual Promise Awards and was named co-leader of the year with Craig Baldwin.

Ashwinta Deo will be interim assistant principal at Cordata. In the 2024-25 school year, she served as an administrative intern at Cordata. Ashwinta has been a Promise Kindergarten teacher with our district since 2022. Prior to teaching Promise K, she was a paraeducator and substitute teacher with our district. Ashwinta has taught preschool and primary school in both Bellingham and in Nadi, Fiji Islands.

Ashwinta recently received her administrative certification from Western Washington University (WWU). She has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Fiji, a higher education diploma in elementary education from Fiji National University and a master’s degree in educational administration from WWU.

Aswinta is a dynamic, dedicated educator and is passionate about connecting with students, especially in a diverse environment. She is looking forward to deepening her relationships with staff and students and enhancing the school culture and student success at Cordata. Ashwinta is fluent in Hindi and speaks Punjabi.

I will use the word “interim” in this announcement only to signal flexibility, and that things may change as we look to the following year. that we assess our leaders throughout the school year, but from here on out, we’ll just say principal and assistant principal.

Please join me in congratulating Ms. Chazo and Ms. Deo in their new roles and wishing Dr. Baldwin all the best at Shuksan.

Greg Baker