By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews
YACHATS — After 10 years with the city’s only public children’s center, the executive director of Yachats Youth and Family Activities Program is leaving.
Patricia Hettinger, who began as an assistant teacher in 2014 and has led YYFAP since 2021, is heading for a farm near Coos Bay sometime in the next several months. There, she and her husband, John, and their three teenaged children will take up life on 20 acres in the small town of Powers.
Hettinger started as an assistant teacher at YYFAP in 2014, later moving up to head teacher and then assistant director before replacing former director Alice Beck in 2021.
Now the YYFAP board is searching for a new director to lead the center, which offers pre- and after-school programs and summer camps for children ages three through 12 from throughout south Lincoln County. The nonprofit also stages several “Families Together” dinners and holiday gatherings throughout the year.
“I can’t say enough good things about Patricia. I’ve never seen a person so dedicated to the children,” said board president Will Williams, who has known the Hettingers for years. “She really stepped up to the plate” when she took over the director’s job.
“Patricia has been such an asset to the program and the community; she’ll be missed greatly,” said Williams.
Hettinger plans to stay on for several months to mentor and advise her successor. “This knowledge transfer will be so critical for getting a new person established, so important to helping ensure a seamless transition,” Williams said.
Housing, property costs
Housing costs in Lincoln County were a factor in Hettinger becoming YYFAP director and may well drive the selection of her successor.
“When we hired Patricia as executive director, housing was the issue for folks who didn’t live in the county already, and it has certainly not improved in the last few years,” said Williams. He speculated that the new director might be a recently-retired educator who already lives in in the area.
Naturally, the board is seeking someone experienced in education, early childhood development and working with children and families. In addition, among the “preferred qualifications” for candidates, according to the board’s job posting, is being a “Resident of south Lincoln County.” The full posting may be viewed on the YYFAP website.
In an interview with YachatsNews, Hettinger said that she and her husband had looked for land for years, “but to get a farm around here, you have to have deep pockets. This has not been the easiest decision for us to make, but we feel it’s best for our family.”
The Hettingers currently live in north Florence; all three of their children went through YYFAP.
“Childcare is such a rare resource on the coast. Without YYFAP, I don’t know what families with young children would do,” she said. “We fill a space for families who work.”
Out of the basement
Reflecting on her tenure in Yachats, Hettinger said she’s most proud of “the early childhood program we’ve developed” when she was an assistant and then head teacher. As executive director, the biggest improvement she spearheaded was moving the after-school program from the basement to the main level of the Commons.
“We were in the basement for 20 years,” she noted.
That location — dark, crowded, with no bathroom or access for the disabled — was left behind in 2021, when YYFAP moved to the former city offices on the main level of the Commons.
Enrollment has increased under Hettinger’s leadership, especially in after-school programs. YYFAP is a state “Preschool Promise” grantee, offering free, quality preschool care and education for low-income families.
“During the pandemic, when we were applying for a PSP grant, we had 20 preschoolers and 15-20 children in our after-school programs,” she said. “Now, we average 35-40 after-school attendees, and about 15 kids in preschool.”
Summer camps have grown, too. Before the pandemic, YYFAP had one elementary grade camp with about 15 kids; now there are two elementary camps with upwards of 60 children enrolled. Pre-school camps have stayed steady with about 15 youngsters.
Hettinger was part of a group that secured the preschool grant, which brings in over $400,000 for two years, renewable bi-annually. More income comes from paid enrollments for pre- and after-school programs, in addition to some funding from the city.
For the coming school year, Hettinger stressed that there are still openings for both the free and paid enrollments. Families interested in free programs can begin their applications by visiting PollywogFamily.org. Hettinger can help parents enroll, either talking them through the process on the phone, or sitting down in person.
Those interested in paid enrollment can call Hettinger at 541-547-4599, or email yyfapkids@gmail.com.
Grads bring kids
YYFAP began over 30 years ago as “a way for homeschooled kids to develop social skills,” said Williams, and became a nonprofit preschool program in 2000.
Today, the organization has grown into multi-generational status, Hettinger said. “We have parents who went through the program themselves now bringing in their kids.”
“My kids have been able to grow up in Yachats; it’s been a big part of our lives for a long time,” she said. And the community at large has been “very supportive of YYFAP,” she said, with “great partnerships with many groups in town.”
Looking ahead, Hettinger has a wish for the new director and YYFAP: “New people don’t often know about us. I would like more people to know that YYFAP is here and offering our services.”
- Cheryl Romano is a Yachats freelance reporter who contributes regularly to YachatsNews.com. She can be reached at Wordsell@gmail.com