Thomas William Welsh

Following MDHS, I went with Shandon and Margaret to Florida State University and did undergraduate work in Mathematics Education (1967) and, subsequently, earned a masters degree (1969) in Counselor Education. I was a teacher of mathematics at Nova High School in Ft. Lauderdale during the 1967-1968 school year before returning to graduate school. In 1970, I accepted a position as a guidance counselor at Stilwell Junior High School in Jacksonville, Florida. The 1972-1973 school year was as a counselor at Terry Parker High School. The years of 1973 through 1976 were spent as a counselor at Landon Junior High School. From June of 1976 through August of 1981, I was an Air Traffic Controller with the Federal Aviation Administration and was stationed at the Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZJX) in Hilliard, Florida, just outside Jacksonville. Following the strike of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), in August of 1981, I was fired by the federal government and returned to education as a counselor at Paxon High School, in Jacksonville. In January of 1982, I was appointed as Coordinator of Student Information Management Systems (SIMS) with the Duval County Public Schools and subsequently promoted to Supervisor of Test Analysis and Reporting in August of 1984. In 1988, I sought a change in responsibilities and was appointed as Principal of Pickett Elementary School in August. In January 1992, I was moved to Henry F. Kite Elementary School, and then, in July of 1994, to Cedar Hills Elementary School. In 2000, after completing 12 years as an elementary principal, I was asked to move back to the district office and was named Principal on Special Assignment for Research and Evaluation. The rank of Principal on Special Assignment was subsequently abolished and I was named Director of Research Services in August of 2001. In June of 2008, I retired from that position after 34 years in public education. In July of 2008 we moved to Salisbury, Maryland. Academic Competition: For 19 years, through 2008, I was the moderator of Academic Competition in Duval County. I've been a Coordinating Judge and Reader with the Commissioner's Academic Challenge in Florida for 12 years and filled the same roles with the Panasonic Academic Challenge for 11 years. Sister Cities: I was active with Jacksonville Sister Cities Association, completing trips to sister cities Murmansk, Russia (1995) and Port Elizabeth, South Africa (1999). Frequently a member of the board and twice Treasurer, in June, 2008, I was named Volunteer of the Year of Jacksonville Sister Cities Association. Accreditation: Following a hiatus of several years, I returned to active status with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI) and the parent organization AdvancED in October, 2006, serving on the Quality Assurance Review Team (QART) which recommended district-wide accreditation for Broward County, Florida. Subsequently, I served on the QART for Talladega County, AL (Mar 2007) and St. Johns County, FL (Oct 2007). I chaired the committee recommending accreditation for Columbia High School in Lake City, FL (Apr 2008). Family: In August, 1974, I married Lydia Maud Engle, of Snow Hill, Maryland, who was then a teacher at Highlands Elementary School in Jacksonville. In September of 1978, Katherine Victoria Welsh was born. Kate married Sal Ferrarello in April of 2003 and is practicing medicine in the Reading, Pennsylvania area. We have one grandson, Dominic, born 9/14/08.

Lydia Kate & Sal Dominic

12/05/2014