Dave Ellingson turns science into adventure for Woodburn High students

Published 12:00 am Saturday, March 15, 2025

(WOODBURN) — Whether leading students knee-deep into a creek to wrangle critters or overseeing an excavation behind the school, Dave Ellingson is always bound to keep his classes interesting.

Ellingson has been a staple at Woodburn High School for nearly three decades, teaching anatomy and biology through unconventional lessons and hands-on explorations.

“I love teaching here. It has just been a great place to work,” Ellingson said. “I have three kids, and they all went to school here, and all went through my classes. I’ve been in the same place for almost 30 years, and I’m going to finish my career here because I just love the community, and I love working here.”

While he is now the longest-standing teacher at WHS, Ellingson’s path to teaching was unexpected. Born and raised in Alberta, Canada, he initially set his sights on becoming a veterinarian. However, in college, he discovered a passion for education. With degrees in history and biology, he arrived in Woodburn in 1997 and was given a choice: teach social studies or biology. He chose biology — and has never looked back.

“As far as my teaching style, I’m not the academic that I probably should be,” Ellingson said, laughing. “I want to make the class experience more, almost, entertaining. I try to be lighthearted with my students, and I try to make it funny. I’m not afraid to embarrass myself.”

While Ellingson’s easygoing nature helps put his students at ease, he believes it’s the hands-on experiences that keep students coming back. One of Ellingson’s favorite memories as a teacher is when he taught a class called The History and Science of Lewis and Clark, where students taxidermied birds.

“The kids loved it, and at the end, I’d say, OK, now take them home,’” Ellingson said. “And just some of the things the kids would come back and say were so funny, like, ‘I put the bird on the mantle in the house, and my mom freaked out.’ Then at parent conferences, they’d be like, ‘Are you the one that had my kid bring home that dead bird?’”

In addition to the dissections and preservations, Ellingson’s students frequently venture outside the classroom for field studies. One of Ellingson’s hallmark field trips is the annual water quality study at Mill Creek.

“The kids all put on boots and waders, and we’ll go in there with nets and try to find what kind of living things are in there,” Ellingson said. “It’s fun for us to be able to collect that data and study it, but it’s also just fun for the kids to get outside and in the water. And, of course, one kid every year is going to fall in and get completely wet.”

However, the true highlight of his curriculum is the annual dig, a tradition Ellingson started in his first few years as a teacher. Every September, he takes students to a site near the school to excavate and analyze bones, a project that has yielded some incredible finds. In 2008, he and his students unearthed a Bison Antiquus skull, an extinct species that roamed North America over 10,000 years ago.

“ Nobody remembers sitting in class doing paperwork. They remember the stuff either outside the class or something that you don’t normally do in school,” Ellingson said. “That’s what I hope kids think of when they look back on high school; they remember the dig, a field trip, or a camping trip and how cool the stuff we did was.”

Ellingson’s efforts to make the sciences interesting to his students have paid off, as he says he has had multiple students pursue careers in science and medicine.

“My goal is when kids go off to their different lives after high school, and they decide later on, ‘Hey, what do I want to be or what do I want to study?’ that they think back to what they liked in high school, and say, ‘Hey, I liked biology and I liked anatomy,’” Ellingson said. “They may not remember anything I taught them in class, but I want them to have enjoyed it to a point where it’s like, this is something I could do.”

Ellingson’s quirky nature isn’t just reserved for the science lab. He’s also involved in Woodburn High School’s athletics scene, announcing boys basketball games with flair and keeping score for the girls team. On top of that, he’s also the girls softball coach.

However, beyond the classroom and the court, Ellingson hopes he has taught students some meaningful life tools and led them to reflect on their passions.

“At the end of the day, it’s not so much about, ‘Am I gonna use this later in life?’” Ellingson said. “It’s, ‘Do I know how to learn something? If I want to understand something, do I know where to go to find the answer?’ I also want my students to find their passion and ask themselves, ‘What do you want to do in life? What makes you excited?’”

Community: Woodburn 

Why he is an amazing educator: He makes science fun and interesting for his students.

“ Nobody remembers sitting in class doing paperwork. They remember the stuff either outside the class or something that you don’t normally do in school. That’s what I hope kids think of when they look back on high school; they remember the dig, a field trip, or a camping trip and how cool the stuff we did was.”

— Dave Ellingson

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1860 Newberg Highway, Woodburn

503-588-0181

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