Newberg High School Principal Mark Risen announced he is retiring from his leadership post immediately for health reasons.

Risen was hired in 2014 after a rigorous process to select a principal. He was charged with changing the leadership structure at NHS from four small school principals to a single principal responsible for the 1500-student school. 

Under Risen’s leadership, students, staff and parents came together to reinvigorate school pride under the Newberg Nation banner. He worked to retain the personalization of small schools during a major reorganization of staff.  Expanded engineering classes and revitalized business-school partnerships were launched last year; Mandarin Chinese and an AVID program targeting graduation and post-secondary success are underway for the coming school year.

“Mark’s hard work to return Newberg to a comprehensive high school and restore school pride has been a significant accomplishment,” said Superintendent Kym LeBlanc-Esparza. ”We will do what we need to do to ensure Newberg High School has the leadership it needs to continue to move forward in addressing student success.  We will miss Mark and wish him and his family well.”

LeBlanc-Esparza said district leaders are exploring options for the coming school year and expect to announce further information next week.