Column: LaDouceur is prime example of profiting from education
Ryan LaDouceur graduated from The Dalles High School in 2000. His education served as a foundation for his learning journey throughout a good part of the world before bringing his skill set back home. He is now paying it forward as the principal of The Dalles Middle School.
Editor’s Note - This is the first in a multi-part series of columns looking at students who were educated within The Dalles School system and who have gone on to make major contributions to our community by bringing their skills and experience back home to make an impact for all of us. A Huge thanks goes to Nancy Turner and Patty Rolen.
By Nancy Turner and Patty Rolen
If you grew up in The Dalles, you won’t be surprised by what you’re about to read, but a city slicker like me might be. Four years ago, when I told my friends and family I was moving to The Dalles, they were worried. Didn’t I know it was a small town, with a hick mentality? Was there even a library or an art center there? Didn’t I know most of the people in The Dalles are rural, unsophisticated folks? Surely, they thought, everyone was narrow-minded and uninformed about the world.
We were all so, so wrong!
I’m the new kid on the block, but Patty Rolen has lived here for decades. She taught 6th grade at The Dalles Middle School and is now retired. She knows plenty of people who grew up in TD and graduated from the local schools. These kids were taught to appreciate the education they received. With a good education under their belts, some stayed and found ways to make meaningful contributions to our community. Others have gone on to get further training, and have come home to roost.
Lots of you probably know Ryan LaDouceur, the principal of The Dalles Middle School. He graduated from TDHS in 2000. Like lots of graduates, they want to get outta dodge.
Ryan did.
From 2007 to 2008, he and his wife, Monica Herman LaDouceur, traveled with backpacks for a year. For twenty years he moved to various places. He worked for a while in the Hillsboro School District, and for three years he taught in Japan. He was an assistant principal at a military base in Puerto Rico and worked as a teacher and administrator in China and South Korea. For nine years he taught and coached wrestling in Oregon City. The two of them could have worked and lived anywhere on the planet, but they chose The Dalles.
Ryan has spent time in Japan, Puerto Rico, China, and South Korea, Hillsboro and Oregon City as he honed his skills in education and coaching. That’s paying dividends now for The Dalles as he is bringing his vast knowledge to The Dalles Middle School.
When it came time to raise a family, they decided they wanted to continue to work in education and also wanted the opportunity to give back to their community. Ryan knows growing up in The Dalles was an enriching experience. He appreciates the education he received. Often moving back home means lower earnings in the short term and limited career options in the long term.
He does not see it that way.
People return to The Dalles to reconnect with the community. As he put it, “I want to push the ball forward.” His priority is not pay, it’s people.
This summer Patty and I visited Ryan at the middle school.
With just days before school started, he was relaxed, welcoming, and enthusiastic about his community. He is a stocky man, all muscle, wearing shorts, and a T-shirt.
He described what’s been going on.
In the past, there was typically a turnover of staff. Things have changed since Ryan was hired. He’s a man on a mission, and he hopes it’s working. Everyone in the school works as a team for a group effort. He is transparent about how decisions are made, which raises the trust level. He encourages community effort, and even had a list of volunteer opportunities on a paper, ready to hand me.
This attitude of inclusiveness has had an impact. Turnover this school year has dropped to almost zero. Staff know they might get paid more elsewhere, but their job satisfaction and comfort in their community might be lower.
Ryan wants kids to know there’s more to attending school than going to classes. His big push is to get every kid connected with some activity outside of academics. Besides athletics, some options are chess, archery, garden club, mural club and free golf lessons. There’s an emphasis on cultural diversity, which is most visually evident in the murals lining the school walls. This level of participation requires careful planning, transparency and trust. Ryan looks for “impact and action,” “sustained engagement,” and promotes a participatory culture. He takes to heart the 3Cs: collaboration, consultation, and communication.
Here’s something important and all too rare to me. His high school wrestling coaches emphasize the importance of giving back to your community.
They take the time to have conversations with their students. They point out how fortunate we are to live in The Dalles and ask the kids to think of ways to show gratitude to a place that provided a positive place to grow up. These kids may move away as young adults, but they never forget this important lesson.
When people graduate from high school and move away, it’s often to increase their education.
When they move back, the effect is more than you might imagine.
They increase the local population, which often increases school enrollment, which means more funds for programs. These returnees also lower the per capita costs of providing social services. Besides this, they usually increase the average level of education and technical skills. Some, like Ryan and Monica, have attended college and then spent time working or serving in the military. The Dalles has NOT experienced the brain drain that often affects small towns. In fact, just the opposite is happening. And Ryan and Monica have four children. They are doing their part to keep The Dalles growing, on many levels.
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