Othello's Desert Oasis school gets new principal

OTHELLO — Othello School District’s alternative learning site, Desert Oasis High School, will start the year with Vance Frost as its new principal.

Frost will also work as the school’s career and technical education instructor.

Frost, 53, is a familiar face in Basin education circles. His last job was teaching at Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center in Moses Lake. Prior to working at CB Tech, he ran Chief Academy Cafe for the Moses Lake School District.

He later obtained his administrator credentials from Gonzaga University.

Frost said he “wanted to be a catalyst to change education” and was told he should become an administrator to do so.

The system is broken and was put in place many decades ago to serve a good idea, he explained.

Today, education is not serving the needs of citizens and industry, or to be competitive in a global market.

He arrived at his conclusion from personal experience, both as a student and a business owner.

Education is a second career for Frost. He decided to go back to school at age 41. Frost worked in the graphic design business and although finances weren’t an issue, he was losing his passion for the business.

“What was this hamster wheel in life I was on?” he wondered at the time.

A pivotal moment happened when he was a guest speaker at Chief Moses Middle School. Frost organized a group activity for students to develop a new candy bar logo. He brought mini candy bars to class for the students to analyze and they got to work.

A teacher complimented him on his approach to the activity. Instead of merely talking at the students, he was engaging them and getting them to work together in groups.

“One teacher said ‘you’re really good at this,’” he recalled.

What piqued Frost’s interest in teaching was watching a few male students in the back of the class during the activity, with hair hanging in their eyes.

As they become more interested in the activity, their chins lifted up in interest. Their ideas were listened to.

“One of the parents said it was the first time they loved education,” Frost commented.

Now in Othello, Frost tells a story of how caring the school community is. A student didn’t have a place to live or furniture before the start of school. Through people stepping up to help through a group text, the student’s needs were met.

“I knew then we had a culture that cared about people,” he said.

The first day of school in Othello is Aug. 25.