Nadene Duffield: “Teaching is in my blood”

This is the first in a series of profiles on the seven members of the Clackamas ESD Board of Directors. Our elected board governs the ESD, setting policy, and hiring and managing the superintendent. Board members represent the geographic diversity of Clackamas County, and bring a range of life experiences to their ESD work. They are a vital part of our team, and we want you to know them better.

Nadene Duffield was born to be a teacher. Her mother taught school in Nebraska in the early 20th century, boarding

with local families at a time when teachers also had to keep the fire stoked in the schoolhouse in addition to shepherding student learning.

She’s also a woman with focus. She was an exchange student in Turkey at age 17 – highly unusual at the time. She put herself through Portland State University, working part-time for six years while going to school, and completing some memorable final exams in the hospital just after giving birth to her daughter. She later earned a master’s degree in teaching from Lewis & Clark College.

Nadene’s reverence for teaching and learning was shared in classrooms all over the country, from Portland to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, over her 30-year teaching career. A second-grade teacher and reading specialist, she loves languages (she toyed with becoming an interpreter before choosing teaching as a career) and, in her words, “never stopped going to school.” During one of her teaching stops in Eugene, Ore., she earned an endorsement in learning disabilities so she could provide more support to her students.

She closed out her career in Oregon City, where she spent 21 years teaching at Redland Elementary School. While there, a parent of one of her students suggested she seek appointment to a vacant position on the Clackamas ESD Board of Directors. She earned the appointment in 1996, was then elected to the position, and another career was born; Nadene is now in her 25th year of board service.

“I felt from the beginning it was a fit for me. I have a perspective that’s unique,” Nadene said. “I’ve been a teacher. I also know the point of view of students and administrators. Everything we do, we do for children.”

In her years on the board, Nadene has helped the ESD through two superintendent transitions, recruited others to serve (one of her school parents, Susan Trone, is now a fellow board member), attended countless events, and helped guide a host of organizational changes, including the move into the Sunnybrook building. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the need for the array of services CESD provides. Nadene has seen that need first-hand, as both a teacher and board member.

“I taught in a small district, and I could not have done without ESD services,” she recalled. “As a board, we’ve always known we are a very high functioning ESD in this state. It’s very fulfilling to hear from school districts, ‘We couldn’t do this without you.’

“We come as close to an equitable distribution of services and costs as we can. Districts let us know when they need things. We listen to them and are open to change.”

Through the years, Nadene also has been impressed with the ESD staff.

“I feel so good about the people we have here. They are so strong,” she said. “They don’t ever have to prove themselves to us – we know how hard they work. People respect us because of our strong leadership.”

Beyond her work on the ESD board, Nadene has volunteered for years as a reading tutor in local schools.

“I never really left school,” she said. “I wasn’t really missing the kids because I was always there.”

That changed, of course, when COVID-19 hit in spring 2020 and classrooms emptied. Also put on hold was Nadene’s volunteer position as a docent at the Stevens-Crawford Heritage House in Oregon City.

She stays active, though, keeping up with her seven grandchildren, and managing upgrades to her home in the middle of 20 acres of forest. She and her husband were forced to evacuate during the fall 2020 wildfires. She’s grateful to be back home, and while COVID is still with us, plotting on how to experiment with some online reading tutoring with a granddaughter and some of her friends.

“Everyone needs to be able to do something that makes you feel you are contributing to society,” Nadene said. “I love the fact I’ve never stopped teaching.”