Special Honorary Achievement
Dr. Thomas King retired as superintendent from Ravenna Schools in 1993 and was presented with a plaque which read: “If not for you, we would not have become as one.” With a decade now having passed, we are still convinced these words reflect the success he enjoyed and shared with others throughout his 40 years in education. In brief, Tom King came to Ravenna in 1987 after having served as Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent for the Brooklyn City School District for eleven years. His honor in being named “Man of the Year” in that community simply highlighted the success he enjoyed when working with staff, students, parents and members of the community. It was to be no different in Ravenna. Tom soon recognized that “Ravenna was the Best Kept Secret in Ohio!” Try as he might, Tom could not keep this secret to himself. He told everyone who would listen about “our secret.” He also professed… “someone has to be second… but it doesn’t have to be us!” His faith in us proved to be correct. While in Ravenna, he played a leadership role in pulling the community together to pass a large (13.8 mills) operating levy for the first time in twenty-five years. With Tom’s vision and guidance, Ravenna also won state and national attention for the Chapter 1 Reading Recovery Program, the “Classroom of the Future” program, and the selection by the National Education Association as Ohio’s “Learning Laboratory School District.” Tom encouraged us to appreciate and recognize the outstanding individual efforts made by superintendents, principals, teachers, students, parents, and community leaders who came before us as well as those who have followed in our footsteps and whose lives we might have touched. Together we accomplished many good things. If it weren’t for Dr. Tom King, the Ravenna Ravens’ Hall of Fame would have never become a reality. Thank you, Tom.