In the News: McConaughey leaves CSLA to fill NHS post

 After 21 years at CSLA Mike McConaughey will succeed Drea Ferguson as NHS theatre director

When Drea Ferguson stepped down as theater director this spring after two decades at Newberg High School, the school lost a beloved pillar of the community.

Fortunately for NHS administrators, students and parents, another Newberg mainstay is ready to step in: C.S. Lewis Academy principal Mike McConaughey has agreed to succeed the iconic teacher.

Just like Ferguson, McConaughey has built the CSLA drama program from scratch and the chance to pursue his passion for theater full time was too much to pass up, even after spending the past 21 years as a language arts teacher and administrator at the small Christian school.

Considering he wanted to stay in Newberg, McConaughey said the NHS post was one of maybe two jobs that could have drawn him away from C.S. Lewis.

“It’s a second home for me and a second family,” McConaughey said. “It was definitely a difficult thing to walk away from, but the opportunity is just what I feel is next for me. I feel like I have done lots of great things here and now it’s time to move on and do some great things other places.”

McConaughey’s passion for the theater was first sparked in elementary school while growing up in Spokane, then further fueled at an active middle school program. He later moved to Vancouver, Wash., where he participated in both high school and community theater.

After working both on stage and behind the scenes in the George Fox University theater program, McConaughey graduated with a degree in secondary language arts education in 1993. He was hired by C.S. Lewis Community School the following year and soon after founded its drama program.

C.S. Lewis merged with other schools twice in McConaughey’s career: first with Chehalem Valley Academy in 2002, and then in 2013 with Open Bible Christian School.

McConaughey earned his master’s degree and an administrator’s license from GFU in 2009, after which he became high school principal.

He then succeeded Wade Witherspoon as the school’s lead administrator in 2011.

According to longtime parent and CSLA board member Theresa Raudsepp, McConaughey proved himself to be an excellent, although quiet leader, building consensus, listening actively, holding teachers and parents accountable, and encouraging problem-solving in the proper Biblical fashion.

“He leads by example and you just appreciate being around him,” Raudsepp said. “If you look at the work he put into the plays, he could bring people into work without them realizing that it was work. It was community building. It was fellowship. It was working together to produce something great.”

According to athletic director and director of development Steve Wallo, McConaughey’s departure came as a shock to the staff at a year-end meeting, but that feeling quickly transformed into excitement for him.

“I was sitting in the back of the room kind of just watching and this air let out of the room … when he announced it,” Wallo said. “Then when he told them what he was doing it was like this celebration all of a sudden. Everybody just went, ‘Wow. That’s what this guy was built for and it’s a great opportunity,’ so everyone was feeling good about it.”

Wallo announced Saturday that C.S. Lewis has hired former Western Mennonite administrator Michael Wenger to become the school’s lead administrator, as well as middle and high school principal.

C.S. Lewis will certainly miss the institutional knowledge McConaughey accrued over 21 years, but more vitally, his grasp on its culture as a tight-knit community. Simultaneously, that is also what he’s most proud of helping to build and will miss the most.

“I think, still, the piece that I like to look back on is the fact that when I came in 1994, the school had a specific feel, that feeling of family — taking care of kids and being a big family,” McConaughey said. “Through all the changes through all the years and all the people coming and going, I feel like today we still are family.”

McConaughey said he is excited by the opportunity to focus on his passion, but will also face a difficult challenge of working in a theater that was recently named after his predecessor.

At the same time, Ferguson also built Newberg into one of the premiere high school drama programs in the state, as it features state-of-the-art equipment, strong resources, excellent parent and community support, and a talented pool of students who have been empowered to steer the program themselves.

McConaughey, who sat in while a parent volunteer conducted auditions for the fall musical, said he has both been impressed by the students he’s met and made to feel extremely welcome.

He also has a personal connection to the program as his niece will serve as president of the student thespian club.

“I’ve heard many times that I have some very big shoes to fill, but I’m willing to take that on,” McConaughey said. “I understand the perspective that she leaves with because I’ve been doing theater at C.S. Lewis for 21 years and I’ve been building this program from virtually nothing as well.”

Written by: Seth Gordon