Crane Union High School

{{expand section|date=March 2024}}

It opened in 1918. It moved to Crane circa 1920 after initially being in Lawen. The dormitory began operations in 1931.{{cite web|last=Perse|first=Taylor|url=https://eugeneweekly.com/2023/08/17/school-on-the-range/|title=School on the Range|newspaper=Eugene Weekly|place=Eugene, Oregon|date=2023-08-17|access-date=2024-03-10}}

On January 25, 1967, a fire ruined multiple buildings of the school facility. The fire also affected Crane Elementary School, which shared the premises. Students were successfully evacuated from the premises. The students temporarily attended school in Burns.{{cite news|title=Fire Levels Crane School|newspaper=The Oregonian|agency=Associated Press|date=1967-01-27|page=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/169464243/ 22]|via=Newspapers.com}} People in Oregon donated funds and clothes to replace academic and personal items that were ruined.{{cite news|title=Bids to be opened for Crane school|newspaper=The Bulletin|date=1967-07-04|page=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/169800183/ 2]|via=Newspapers.com}}

The school resumed operations circa 1969. According to B. Marie Jarreau-Danner of the Burns Times-Herald, the replacement facility was, according to "historical material", "the first all-steel building" in the state.{{cite news|last=Jarreau-Danner|first=B. Marie|title=Oregon's most well-traveled students|newspaper=Baker City Herald|date=2001-10-12|volume=132|issue=111|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/169368556/ 1], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/169368583/ 3]}}

Maurice Thorne began his term as both the superintendent and principal in June 1969. According to Thorne, he at first tried to manage the students in a similar way to how one would manage university students, but he felt this management style did not work. In the 1970s, the school had a rule that stated that female students were not allowed to wear blue jeans during instructional time.{{cite news|last=Flanigan|first=James C.|title=Education in the Desert: Harney School Unique|newspaper=The Oregon Journal|date=1976-02-16|page=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/169464767/ 17]|via=Newspapers.com}}

Taylor Perse of Eugene Weekly stated that the community of Crane reoriented itself around the school after the community declined in population. In 1983 the Associated Press wrote that the school became "Crane's sole reason for being".{{cite news|title=Justice is unique in nation's last public boarding school|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Reno Gazette-Journal|place=Reno, Nevada|date=1983-05-11|page=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/143136009/ 2F]|via=Newspapers.com}}

Eric Nichols became the principal circa 2018.

The official school district attendance area includes, in addition to Crane: Diamond, Double-O Ranch, Drewsey, Fields, Frenchglen,{{cite web|url=https://www.craneedu.org/elementary/rural-feeder-districts|title=CUHS Rural Feeder School Districts|publisher=Crane Union High School|accessdate=2022-07-15}} Riley,{{cite web|url=https://www.harneycountyoregon.com/education|title=Education|publisher=Harney County Economic Development|accessdate=2022-07-15|quote=Suntex Elementary School 68178 Silver Creek Road Riley, OR 97758}} - This shows Suntex Elementary, one of the feeder schools of Crane Union, is also the area school of Riley, OR. and Suntex. In 2002 the size of its attendance boundary was {{convert|7700|sqmi|sqkm}}, an area that was about the same size as that of Massachusetts.{{cite news|last=Hagemeier|first=Heidi|title=Public boarding school is one of few|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Statesman Journal|place=Salem, Oregon|date=2002-10-20|page=3C}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105642020/ Clipping] at Newspapers.com - Also at: {{cite web|url=http://www.harneyuh.k12.or.us/articles%20about%20Crane1.html|title=Untitled|work=The Bulletin|date=2002-10-06|accessdate=2022-07-15|archive-date=2006-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061010053022/http://www.harneyuh.k12.or.us/articles%20about%20Crane1.html|url-status=bot: unknown}} - The mathematical calculations support the claim that the district's size is around that of Massachusetts.

The school also historically served sections of Malheur County,{{cite web|url=http://www.harneyuh.k12.or.us/articles%20about%20Crane1.html|title=Head 'em up, Move 'em out, Board 'em|work=Farm Journal|date=February 1998|accessdate=2022-07-15|archive-date=2006-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061010053022/http://www.harneyuh.k12.or.us/articles%20about%20Crane1.html|url-status=bot: unknown}} - The claim about the size of the district being larger than three states combined is contradicted by mathematical calculations of the state's areas. and portions of Humboldt County, Nevada,{{cite news|last=Flanigan|first=James|title=At Crane, they board 'em|newspaper=The Capital Journal|place=Salem, Oregon|date=1976-03-01|page=12}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105642352/ Clipping] from Newspapers.com. There was an abbreviated version published: {{cite news|last=Flanigan|first=James|title=Crane Union High students live on campus at Burns|agency=United Press International|newspaper=The World|place=Coos Bay, Oregon|date=1976-03-18|page=14}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105642763/ Clipping] from Newspapers.com. including Denio.{{cite news|title=Even the girls chew tobacco: Crane unique among U.S. high schools|newspaper=The Bulletin|date=1975-12-03|page=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/169429763/ 9]|via=Newspapers.com}} Some communities in Nevada had inter-state agreements. Sending school districts pay the costs of tuition.{{cite web|last=Frazier|first=Joseph B.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-nov-22-me-46412-story.html|title=In Eastern Oregon, 'Going' to School Means Living There|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=1998-11-22|accessdate=2022-07-15}}. The claim about the district's size being the same as three states does not match the mathematical calculation which shows the sum of the states being larger than that of the size of the school district's territory stated in other articles. In 1959, the Crane UHSD territory extended into Malheur County; that year there was a proposal to reorganize the school districts in both counties with part of Crane Union's territory to be given to Malheur County.{{cite news|title=Crane School Area Proposal Wins Approval|newspaper=The Idaho Statesman|place=Boise, Idaho|date=1959-09-24|page=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105691413/ 19]|via=Newspapers.com}} {{As of|2009}} some students in the Juntura area, who are within Juntura School District 12, a K-8 school district, move on to Crane Union for high school.{{cite news|url=https://eastoregonian.com/2009/07/25/the-oasis-lives-between-vale-and-burns/|title=The Oasis lives between Vale and Burns|newspaper=East Oregonian|date=2009-07-25|access-date=2025-03-22}}

Crane Union historically served the Denio area, including when the townsite was in Oregon.{{cite web|url=http://www.harneyuh.k12.or.us/articles%20about%20Crane1.html|title=They 'Live In' at Crane|work=Sunday Journal Magazine|date=1950-11-12|accessdate=2022-07-15|archive-date=2006-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061010053022/http://www.harneyuh.k12.or.us/articles%20about%20Crane1.html|url-status=bot: unknown}} The area on the Oregon state line across from Denio is, as of 2020, in the official Crane Union boundary. {{As of|2004}} Denio, Nevada parents with high school aged children may send their children to Crane Union instead of sending them to Albert M. Lowry High School in Winnemucca, Nevada.{{cite news|last=Roccapriore|first=Carla|title=Tiny-town students visit biggest little city|newspaper=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=2004-12-12|pages=1C, 2C}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105670689/ Clipping of first] and [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105670755/ of second page] at Newspapers.com. "a public boarding school in Crane, Ore." automatically refers to Crane Union HS, as it is the only boarding school in Crane.

Crane Union High School is the only school in Crane Union High School District, which covered the most area in Oregon as of 2006, serving {{convert|7500|mi2|km2}}.{{cite web

| title = Governor addresses Crane Union HS commencement ceremony

| publisher = Oregon.gov

| date = May 26, 2006

| url = http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/p2006/press_052606.shtml

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060929032847/http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/p2006/press_052606.shtml

| archive-date = 2006-09-29

| accessdate = March 24, 2007 }}As of 2008, the Klamath County School District is the largest. Students from the surrounding ranches attend Crane Union High School from as far away as {{convert|150|mi|km}}. Crane is one of the oldest public boarding schools in the country.{{cite web

| last = McDonald

| first = Rachael

| title = Life at Oregon's Rural Boarding School

| publisher = Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB)

| date = March 22, 2005

| url = http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=752959

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929130608/http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=752959

| archive-date = 2007-09-29

| accessdate = March 24, 2007 }}

Jeff LaLande, in an Oregon Historical Society publication made in 2005 and updated in 2014, stated that the school was "comparatively expensive" to operate.{{cite book|last=LaLande|first=Jeff|chapter-url=https://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/narratives/high-desert-history-southeastern-oregon/part-of-the-wider-world/challenges-ahead/|chapter=Challenges Ahead|title=High Desert History: Southeastern Oregon|publisher=Oregon Historical Society|year=2005|access-date=2024-03-11}} - Updated in 2014.

The district automatically enrolls from the Harney County Union High School District 1J boundary in Harney County.{{cite web|url=https://policy.osba.org/harney1jcrane/J/JECA%20D1.PDF|title=Admission of Resident Students|publisher=Crane Union High School|accessdate=2022-07-22}} The district also takes tuition-paying students from outside the boundary and students which are sent there by cooperative agreement from other school districts paying tuition.{{cite web|url=https://policy.osba.org/harney1jcrane/J/JECB%20D1.PDF|title=Admission of Nonresident Students|publisher=Crane Union High School|accessdate=2022-07-22}}

In 2001 the Crane Union catchment area included less than {{convert|500|sqmi|sqkm}} of area in Malheur County, while the district's area in Harney County was over {{convert|7000|sqmi|sqkm}}. Some students from Humboldt County, Nevada attend high school at Crane Union.

Sometime around 1989, the Brothers School District of Brothers began sending its high school students to Crane Union instead of to Bend Senior High School.{{cite news|last=Rhiannon|first=Thea|title=Teens become family at boarding school|newspaper=The Bulletin|date=1989-04-23|page=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/169488395/ D-1]|via=Newspapers.com}}

{{expand section|date=April 2025}}

Harney County Union High School District 1J and Harney County School District 4 (for Crane Elementary) are two separate school districts, and both have their own boards of education. As of 2002, the same person is the superintendent and principal of both districts and both schools (Crane Elementary and Crane Union High).{{cite news|title=Tiny district feels financial pinch|newspaper=The Bulletin|date=2002-04-30|page=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/169463643/ C6]|via=Newspapers.com}}

It has {{convert|80|acre|ha|adj=on}} of area. Crane Elementary School is on the same property.{{cite news|last=Bradley|first=Carol|title='Local' students seem to be gone for good|newspaper=The Idaho Statesman|place=Boise, Idaho|date=1994-03-13|page=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/143196644/ 8C]|via=Newspapers.com}} The current academic building and dormitory were built for $893,000.{{cite news|title=Only public boarding school in U.S.: Crane High offers unique way of life|newspaper=The Bulletin|date=1972-09-29|page=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/169507052/ 2]|via=Newspapers.com}}

The dormitory, funded by money otherwise used for transportation, is for students over {{convert|20|mi|km}} away. Male students have the first floor and female students have the second.{{cite web|url=http://www.harneyuh.k12.or.us/dorm.html|title=Crane Dorm|publisher=Crane Union High School|date=2006-10-10|accessdate=2022-07-15|archive-date=2006-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061010052957/http://www.harneyuh.k12.or.us/dorm.html|url-status=bot: unknown}} The school started boarding in 1928, and established a brick dormitory, which had two floors, in 1931. In the 1940s a dormitory for female students opened. Its current facility, made of cement and steel, opened due to a 1967 fire that ruined the previous building. {{As of|2023}} each room houses two students; Perse characterized the room sizes as larger or the same as such rooms at the University of Oregon. When the school had a larger student population, students were housed four to each room. In the 1990s the school removed televisions and video games from the dormitories, and enacted a policy that only allowed students to leave if their parents allowed them to.{{cite news|title=Remote school poses a challenge|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The Daily Astorian|date=1998-10-23|page=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip169465796/ 10A]|via=Newspapers.com}}

The district also provides housing to employees.

In 1950 it had 63 students, with some of them Basque Oregoners from Denio, Oregon. In 1976 it had 99 students. In February 1998 it had 77 students, and in November of the same year it was up to 88, with 65 of them boarding. In 2002 the school had 97 students. In 2020 its student count was 96, with boarders making up 60 of them.{{cite web|last=Hall|first=Aliya|url=http://www.theotheroregon.com/features/feature_stories/rural-boarding-schools-combat-distance-create-connection/article_0f5c1830-245a-11ea-ab49-0bc0a90cf258.amp.html|title=Rural boarding schools combat distance, create connection|work=The Other Oregon|publisher= EO Media Group LLC|date=2020-03-27}} - [https://www.theotheroregon.com/features/feature_stories/rural-boarding-schools-combat-distance-create-connection/article_0f5c1830-245a-11ea-ab49-0bc0a90cf258.html Non-AMP link] In 2002, the common class sizes were about 10-15 students.{{cite news|last=Hagemeier|first=Heidi|title=Crane Union High School|newspaper=The Bulletin|date=2002-10-06|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/169466542/ C1], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/169466531/ C11]|via=Newspapers.com}}

Eric Cain of Oregon Public Broadcasting stated that the student body is "some of the most rural kids in the state – maybe the country".{{cite web|last=Cain|first=Eric|url=http://www.opb.org/programs/oregonstory/ruralvoices/crane.html|title=About Crane Union High School|publisher=Oregon Public Broadcasting|date=2013-08-25|accessdate=2022-07-15|archive-date=2013-08-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825014854/http://www.opb.org/programs/oregonstory/ruralvoices/crane.html|url-status=bot: unknown}} As some of the students came from rural areas, in 2002 some had special driving permits that one could obtain beginning at age 14. Many of the students are alumni of one room schoolhouses and had regularly helped their families with ranch work prior to leaving for high school. Nichols described the school culture as "very neighborhood-ish" despite the students coming from a vast rural area.

{{As of|1983}} it was common for unmarried teachers to teach for one or two years at Crane Union before moving elsewhere in response to the area being isolated.{{cite news|last=Seagrave|first=Jane|title=School has homey touch|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Corvallis Gazette-Times|place=Corvallis, Oregon|date=1983-03-30|page=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/143196450/ 9]|via=Newspapers.com}}

A teacher quoted in a 1989 article in The Bulletin stated that student discipline was in a very good condition at the school.{{cite news|last=Rhiannon|first=Thea|title=Teens become family at boarding school|newspaper=The Bulletin|date=1989-04-23|page=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/169488395/ D-1]|via=Newspapers.com}} A student quoted in a 2002 Associated Press article stated that illegal recreational drugs were very uncommon, with alcohol consumption being the most severe occurrence. In 1998 the vice principal stated that chewing tobacco was a more common issue compared to other recreational drugs. In 1976, snuff was common among the student body, while marijuana was considered highly taboo and lacked a presence. Thorne stated in 1976 that some students had issues with alcohol consumption but that this ceased when the school stopped allowing students to go to the movie theater in Burns.

In 2008, 100 percent of the school's seniors received a high school diploma. Of 24 students, 24 graduated and none dropped out.{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2009/06/high_school_dropout_rates.html|title=State releases high school graduation rates|date=2009-06-30|work=The Oregonian|accessdate=2009-07-01}}{{cite web|url=http://blog.oregonlive.com/education_impact/2009/06/Dropout-Rates.xls|title=Oregon dropout rates for 2008|date=2009-06-30|work=The Oregonian|accessdate=2009-07-01}}

Most students, as of 2002, went on to universities and colleges.

In 2002, there were 18 Advanced Placement courses available. That year, the school had satellite access for additional courses that could not be offered in person.

In 1983 the teachers offered extra classes partly because the area had few other activities available, and focusing on teaching was a pastime available.

{{As of|2002}} the district has no school bus for students. Students may drive themselves to/from school on weekends. This is because, as of 1972, the school officials use the funding from the state, used by other districts for transportation purposes, to fund the dormitory.{{cite news|title=80 Students Live At Crane School|newspaper=Corvallis Gazette-Times|agency=Associated Press|place=Corvallis, Oregon|date=1972-10-04|page=9}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116520521/ Clipping] from Newspapers.com. In 1983 the vice principal, Bill Thew, stated that the cost would be higher if the district had used school buses.

In 1975 the school district owned a school bus but only used it for transportation to and from athletic events.

In 2001 the district gave money to compensate parents for transporting their children to and from the school. As of 1985, the district gave parents this aid money on a monthly basis, at the end of said month. As of 1985, if a student ate a school meal, the cost was taken from the aid money that was to be given at the end of the month.{{cite news|last=Braymen|first=Pauline|title=Crane students work up appetites by traveling|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=1985-03-05|page=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/169367809/ FD2]|via=Newspapers.com}}

In 1950 the district had a bus to take students to Burns, Oregon so they could access entertainment. By 1976, the school no longer allowed students to go to the theater in Burns.

In 1998 about 90% of the students participated in athletics.

{{As of|2023}} several students partake in rodeos outside of school functions. The school previously had rodeo as an official sport. Fears of legal problems meant that rodeo was withdrawn as an official sport. In 1983, the school had a mechanical bull in its possession.

The school newspaper is called The Whirlwind. James C. Flanigan of the Oregon Journal wrote that this publication "received national awards."

The high school, in its official attendance zone, takes students from the following K-8 school districts:

• Diamond School District 7
• Double O School District 28
• Drewsey School District 13
• Frenchglen School District 16
• Harney County School District 4 (Crane Elementary School)
• Pine Creek School District 5
• South Harney County School District 33 (Fields School)
• Suntex School District 10

{{As of|2004}} Denio School of the Humboldt County School District would also be a feeder school as Denio, Nevada students had Crane Union as one option for high school.

• List of high schools in Oregon
• List of boarding schools in the United States

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.craneedu.org/high-school Crane Union High School]
• [https://cranehighschool.org/ Crane Union High School (alternate website)]
• {{cite web|url=http://www.opb.org/programs/oregonstory/ruralvoices/index.html|title=Three Days at Crane|publisher=Oregon Public Broadcasting|access-date=2022-07-15|archive-date=2013-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021214300/http://www.opb.org/programs/oregonstory/ruralvoices/index.html|url-status=bot: unknown}}

{{Public boarding schools in the United States}}

{{Education in Malheur County, Oregon}}

{{authority control}}

Category:High schools in Harney County, Oregon

Category:Education in Malheur County, Oregon

Category:Education in Humboldt County, Nevada

Category:Boarding schools in Oregon

Category:Educational institutions established in 1918

Category:Public high schools in Oregon

Category:1918 establishments in Oregon

Category:Public boarding schools in the United States