(Rockaway Beach, Oregon) — Christy Hartford, principal of Neah-Kah-Nie High School in the Neah-Kah-Nie School District, has been named Oregon High School Principal of the Year. She received the news in a surprise announcement over Zoom. The award is presented by the newly named Oregon Principals Association (OPA), part of the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators (COSA). OPA brings Oregon’s elementary and secondary principals together in one association, mirroring the National Principals Association (NPA), which now serves principals at every grade level.
Superintendent Dr. Tyler Reed wrote in his nomination letter that Hartford’s “leadership has fundamentally transformed our school culture, instructional quality, and student achievement.”
The 2025–26 school year shows those results. Neah-Kah-Nie reached a 100% ninth-grade on-track rate. Freshman attendance rose 28%. State test scores climbed 27% in reading, 21% in math, and 28% in science.
Part of that progress came from Link Crew, a program Hartford and her team brought to the school that pairs incoming freshmen with junior and senior mentors. It gives ninth graders an early sense of connection and gives upperclassmen a chance to lead.
Here are some photos for the Freshmen and LINK crew in August, 2026:
“She has built an environment where high expectations are matched by genuine care,” Reed wrote.
Hartford’s leadership also reaches beyond her own school. She serves on the executive committee of the Oregon Association of Secondary School Administrators (OASSA), one of the two associations now joined as OPA. She has also traveled to Washington, D.C., with COSA to advocate for Oregon students on Capitol Hill.
“Christy represents the very best of school leadership in Oregon,” Reed wrote in his nomination letter.
Hartford will be formally honored at the COSA Law Conference in December 2026.
About the Oregon Principals Association
The Oregon Principals Association represents Pre-K–12 principals and assistant principals across Oregon. It is part of the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators (COSA) and is aligned with the National Principals Association (NPA). Learn more here.
