In The News: Rick Harris signs off after 36 years on the job

Newberg education — Former NHS English teacher and coach revitalized by move to teaching elementary school physical education

Rick Harris has filled many roles in his 36 years in the Newberg School District, from teaching English, health and physical education to coaching football, baseball and basketball at Newberg High School, but it was his latest stint that brought him the most joy.

Feeling in a bit of a rut after 15 years at Newberg High School, Harris switched things up in 1994, electing to take a part-time position as the physical education teacher at Ewing Young Elementary School.

A year later, he added the same duties at Dundee Elementary to return to full time. The next 20 years proved to be the best of his career, which ended with his retirement this spring.

“It prolonged my career because the joy of teaching returned to me,” Harris said. “There’s nothing more joyful than an elementary school P.E. gymnasium, as far as I’m concerned. Kids are busting the doors down to get in and whatever you’re going to do, they’re primed and ready to go.”

Raised in the Lebannon and Corvallis area, Harris played baseball and basketball at Linfield College, where he majored in physical education and student taught at NHS.

He was hired as an English teacher after graduating in 1979 and immediately began his coaching career, serving as an assistant football coach.

“That’s how you got your fix, at least that’s how I saw it,” Harris said of coaching. “I talked to some of my coaches and they said I’d love it and I did.”

Harris coached one or more seasons in football, basketball or baseball, including a five-year stint as head coach on the diamond, every year for the next 25 years before stepping away in 2004, when his daughter entered NHS. In addition to coaching at the high school, he also ran the middle school basketball program and coached his daughter’s team.

“I had a great group of girls and there’s nothing like coaching your own kids and I was able to do that,” Harris said. “It was all very positive.”

Over the span of nearly four decades, Harris has seen sports grow and evolve within the greater culture, but not all the changes have been for the better.

When he thinks back to his playing days, it was all fun and he rarely felt any pressure, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for many athletes today. In general, he’s noticed an overall acceleration in athletics, from increasing parent involvement to specialization and an ever-growing focus on making it to the college level.

“The kids are better than they’ve ever been, athletically speaking, because they concentrate more in one or maybe two areas,” Harris said. “I’m not convinced it’s better for the kid. I see more stressed out kids than I did early in my career and that’s a concern.”

That is part of what made his move to elementary physical education so gratifying, that the joy he saw and heard from kids was steady and abundant.

“My favorite sound is kids’ laughter,” he said. “It’s my favorite sound in the world. It’s not an addiction, but it’s pretty powerful.”

It seems that Harris had a similarly positive effect with the students at Dundee Elementary, who received as much energy from him as they gave, according to secretary Shelley Thomas.

“I don’t think there was a kid there that didn’t love P.E. or love Mr. Harris,” Thomas said. “He was good at holding them to a high standard. He was a man of integrity and he expected that out of the kids and they gave it to him. They just really loved him.”

After his wife Jan retired five years ago after teaching in Newberg for 31 years herself, Harris said he felt it was time to retire while he was still in good health so that they can finally travel and spend more time with their six grandchildren that live in the area.

The children at Dundee Elementary, though, won’t be the only ones who will miss him next year.

“He will leave a big hole,” Thomas said of his place on the staff and his presence in the building. “He was a great storyteller, kind of one of those guys you always knew when he was around. You always knew he was coming because he was humming or just the laughter coming out of the staff room.”

Written by: Colin Staub