NEWBERG, Ore. — Mark Brown didn’t set out to become a principal — at least not this early.

When he arrived at Newberg High School in 2012 as a health teacher and activities director, the job he had in mind was a long one — teaching, coaching, and being present in the building for students. Administration wasn’t the destination. 

“I really never had the goal early on in my career of getting to the principal seat,” Brown said. “I loved teaching. I loved coaching.”

More than a decade later, at 37 years old — 10 years younger than the average age of a principal in the country — he holds the top job at Newberg High.

On March 20, Brown ascended as permanent principal of NHS, ending his nearly yearlong tenure in an interim capacity and formalizing his leadership of the school. 

“I don’t know that I would have done it if it weren’t Dave Parker in the superintendent chair,” Brown said. “He’s been one of my mentors since the first time he was here in Newberg. He really got me into leadership and into administration.”

Parker previously served as Newberg superintendent from 2012 to 2018.

Parker, in a statement released by the district, said the appointment reflects confidence in Brown’s fit for the role.

“Mark has a deep connection to the Newberg-Dundee community and a genuine heart for the people he serves,” Parker said. “He brings a positive spirit to the work and has a way of inspiring hope in others. His commitment to supporting students and helping them succeed, both academically and personally, makes him an outstanding leader for Newberg High School.”

Brown’s path to the principal’s office ran entirely through NHS. After his start in the classroom, he moved into an interim assistant principal role during an earlier period of school transition and served as assistant principal from 2018 to 2022. He then spent three years as athletic director, a role he described as one he thought he’d hold for the long haul. 

“I understand the value and the power of what athletics can do for students and for people,” he said.

He spent more than a decade as head coach of the NHS boys varsity basketball program and helped develop the Tiger Leadership Academy, a leadership training curriculum for student-athletes. 

His relationship with athletics, he said, is less about the games than what they teach.

“Sports really formed and shaped me into who I am today because of the coaches that I had, because of the opportunity I had to experience working within a team,” Brown said. “Everything I did — the success that I experienced wasn’t my success, or the failures I experienced weren’t my failures. It was our successes and our failures and our learning.”

That team-first outlook now frames how he thinks about NHS as a whole. His stated priority is straightforward: get every student across the graduation stage. But he’s quick to describe what he sees as the prerequisite.

“I want to make sure every single one of our students feels valued, connected, and cared for at Newberg High School,” he said. “I’m a big believer in the power of hope. If we can help our students find hope and experience hope, they’re going to be more successful academically and more set up for success with whatever path they choose.”

Brown described substitute teachers who seek out NHS specifically because of the students — something he said reflects well on the educators in the building. 

“Students here in Newberg are different. They’re kind. They’re respectful,” he said. “I’m so humbled and proud that I get to lead an amazing group of people.”

Outside the building, Brown is a self-described girl dad. His wife teaches at Chehalem Valley Middle School, and the couple has two elementary-school-aged daughters who are both active in soccer, basketball, and other sports. 

You may also catch him at the golf course, with the caveat familiar to most golfers: “I love it. I’m not very good.”

Brown was named the National Jostens Renaissance Educator of the Year in 2025. The national award, aimed at recognizing outstanding teachers who have excellent in implementing best practices of affirmation and recognition in schools, said that Brown lives by one powerful mantra: “Hope Dealer.”

“Every day, in every interaction, through every message, [Brown] offers real, meaningful hope to educators, students, and school communities across the country,” the award program stated. “He speaks to audiences across the nation, not to perform, but to transform—to light a fire in others and remind them why they do what they do. Mark is a culture-shifter who brings energy, joy, and clarity wherever he goes.”

He said a full school year ahead feels like the real beginning.

“NHS is a great place,” he said. “There is already so much good here. I look forward to continuing to build on the strong foundation we have.”