Local high school sports is synonymous with the Maine Principals’ Association. And the MPA’s Executive Director Dick Durost is a fan just like everybody else. On Nov. 3, Durost attended the Class D Boys’ State Championship soccer match. It pitted the school where he first taught and coached, Penobscot Valley High School in Howland, against North Yarmouth Academy. Durost,  who lives in Wiscasset, didn’t have a long drive as the game was played in Bath.

But the game was special to Durost for another reason. His son, Jeremy Durost, is the Howlers’ coach. NYA defeated PVHS 3-1 for the championship, but the elder Durost plans on seeing his son’s and grandchildren’s teams play more often next year. Durost, who has served as the MPA executive director since 2001, will retire next June. And Durost, who turns 70 next May, plans on making his retirement permanent.

Durost and his wife Marcelle have five grandchildren between them. All of them participate in sports and the couple plan on seeing a lot of ballgames next year. “I have grandchildren in Howland, Bangor and South Portland. And she has two in Louisville, Kentucky. So the plan is to do a lot of traveling next year. So I’m not seeking any employment opportunities. And as of June 30, 2019, I am done.”

He began his education career at PVHS teaching math and physics for 14 years. Howland is 34 miles north from Bangor, and 113 miles south from his hometown of Mars Hills near Presque Isle. At PVHS, the  older Durost coached basketball and soccer. And it was his participation in athletics which inspired him to teach. Durost began high school at Aroostook Central Institute and later graduated from Central Aroostook High School. In his senior year, CAHS went 15-1 and earned a trip to a basketball tournament. But Durost was not one of the team’s top performers.

You may think Durost who stands at six feet four inches tall would’ve been an Aroostook County giant in the 1960s. But his frame didn’t fully mature until after graduation. At Central Aroostook, he was a guard who didn’t see much action. He played one year of varsity basketball and scored seven points.

“I was the 12th man who sat at the end of the bench,” he said. “But I had one of those teachers who made a difference in a student’s life. His name was George Archer who found a place for me. That summer I grew and played basketball for University of Maine at Presque Isle and became a 1,000-point scorer.”

In 1986, Durost left the classroom to move into school administration. He was hired as Easton High School principal. In his first administrative post, Durost became instantly acquainted with how a small high school functions. “I served as my own assistant, athletic director and guidance counselor. It gave me an ideal at what I was good at and prepared me for future jobs.”

In 1989, he became Presque Isle High School’s assistant principal and two years later the principal. During his tenure in Presque Isle, the school was recognized many times for an outstanding academic record. The school was featured in national news media for a single sex math class, part of a plan for eliminating a gender gap in math scores. In 1993, the Maine Center for Education’s “Voices of Change” program recognized PIHS for using computer technology. And in 1991, the U.S. Department of Education presented the school with a National School of Excellence Award. Four years later, Durost received an individual award as a Milken Foundation National Education Award winner. More than 2,700 exemplary teachers, principals and specialists have been surprised with individual, unrestricted $25,000 prizes since 1987. 

In the past four decades, Durost has shaped Maine education in both the classroom and on the athletic fields. As a member of the MPA, he served on the Class A basketball committee and also served on the National Federation of High Schools Board of Directors which approves the rules for scholastic athletics. And in reflection, Durost is pleased with what he has accomplished educating Maine students.

But he is most proud of what his schools achieved in the classroom. “I’m very proud of what my schools achieved academically. I had two teachers win a Milken Award, a school named as an academic Blue Ribbon Award winner. So we’ve had a lot of good things happen at our schools.”

In 2001, Durost had spent 30 years in education when a new opportunity occurred. The Maine Principals’ Association was looking for a new director as Dick Tyler was resigning. So Durost, who was the MPA’s board of directors’ president, applied.

“These opportunities don’t come around often. Dick Tyler spent 17 years on the job so I knew I’d probably never have another chance at becoming executive director. I had spent 30 years in public education as a teacher and principal and this was another chance to impact public K through 12 education on a statewide basis. And that type of work, mentoring principals and vice principals, was appealing,” Durost said.

The MPA is best know for sponsoring 19 high school athletic events along with  debate, drama and National Honor Society competitions and activities. The association is also responsible for providing members schools and principals with 65 days of professional development training. As a young teacher, he remembers most principals being former athletic directors who could dole out discipline. Now principals are more geared toward leading classrooms. Durost believed he could bridge the gap between both worlds as executive director.

“I appreciate all the work we provide for professional development I saw becoming executive director as way to use my athletic and academic background to become a leader of principals at a state levels,” he said.

In 2012, Durost married Marcelle Durost who was an elementary school principal in Bucksport. He lived in Augusta and the couple moved to Wiscasset after she became the Southport Central School principal.

With retirement on the horizon, Durost is looking forward to seeing his grandchildren more frequently.