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36 • THINGS TO KNOW 2013
CROOK COUNTY PEOPLE
Duane Yecha
Crook County School District Superintendent
The first thing a visitor to Dr. Duane Yecha’s office is
impressed with is the number of family photographs on
the walls, on his desk – everywhere. His family is also
one of the first – and most important – subjects in any
conversation with him.
“I think if you talk to me very long, the topic of my two
boys is going to come up. We’ve really, really enjoyed
raising our children,” he said, not quite able to conceal
his pride.
However, Crook County’s taxpayers can rest assured
that they are getting their money’s worth from this 55-
year-old school superintendent.
“I’m pretty busy,” understated Yecha. “I get home late
at night, watch the news, catch my breath for the next
day. I tend to get up real early in the morning, and stay
late. Ten-to-12-hour days are pretty normal. It’s been
that way for 20-plus years.”
Yecha, who’s now in his 33rd year as an educator,
started his career after college at Washington State
University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in
teaching and a Masters in Science in educational
administration. With both his mother and sister working
as teachers, there seemed to be little choice for his
career path. Suzy, his wife of 33 years, is also a
teacher.
They began their careers simultaneously — he in
Newberg, Ore., and she in Yamhill. After eight years,
Yecha landed his first administrative position as a vice principal in
Lakeview, Ore.
“What I remember about Lakeview,” he said, “is it’s not the end
of the world, but you have to drive through Lakeview to get to the
end of the world.”
Eventually leaving Lakeview as the principal, he went on to
serve as the principal at Riverside High School in Boardman, Ore.,
and later as school superintendent in the Reedsport and then
Winston-Dillard school districts.
This is his second school year in
Crook County.
It wasn’t until late 2008 when
he completed the requirements
for his Ed.D.— specializing in edu-
cational leadership — from
George Fox University.
“If you think about the tortoise
and the hare race,” he quipped,
“me finishing that doctorate was
sort of the tortoise model. It took
me a full eight years to complete
that. I used up every minute of
the allowable time, but my
excuse was I was either a full-
time principal or a full-time
superintendent when I was com-
pleting that.”
According to Yecha, Crook
County’s graduation rate is about 10 percent above the state’s
average (68 percent). It’s a statistic he’s pleased with, but he’s not
satisfied. He wants to raise expectations.
“I think historically, Crook County has had a lower percentage of
people who had a bachelor’s degree, or higher.” The district’s goal,
he said, is to increase that to 40 percent, with another 40 percent
going
on to other forms of secondary training — an associate degree or
job training, for example.
The school district has also been able to restore some programs
and teachers that were cut during the last four or five years, par-
ticularly related to vocational education, he said, and is working on
increasing advanced placement and dual-credit courses in the
high school. Preparing kids for college is the reason a fifth-year,
advanced diploma option will be
available for high school seniors,
beginning next year. Like the pro-
gram in the Redmond School
District, this will be a way for
fifth-year seniors to take college-
level courses.
“It’s not an original idea but we
think it’s a good one,” said Yecha.
“We’re mirroring that (Redmond)
here and partnering well with the
Open Campus building and their
program.”
Yecha said he and his wife
enjoy living in Prineville, where
they like to walk their dogs — “a
bit of a replacement for their chil-
dren” — and go on long drives in
the country. He also admits to
doing a little fishing and automo-
tive work. However, if he could do just one thing, he said it would
be to improve the economy.
“If I could fix one thing right now, this community just needs
more jobs,” said Yecha. “Prineville has a great advantage. It’s cer-
tainly a family town and there’s great community support here for
children.”
Duane Yecha has served as Crook County School District Superintendent since 2011.
☞ A FEW FACTS ABOUT THE
CROOK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
The school district is responsible for nine schools plus
other educational programs serving 3,080 students:
Crook County School District Personnel
• Certified Classroom: 114
• Certified Specialists: 29
• Administration/Director/Supervisor: 16
• Classified: 156
Fiscal year 2012-2013 funding
• General Fund: $28,476,000
• All Funds: $40,437,000