Decades after leaving Shelby still supporting the town
Devotion to education and youths for Bruce Armstrong ’71 took root while a student at Ohio State University when he worked with students at the Ohio State School for the Blind.
While at SHS, Bruce ran track, served on his class executive committee, as sophomore class president, and Student Council president his senior year.
At Ohio State he earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1975 and a master’s in special education in 1976 when he began teaching at the school for the blind. He also became certified as a braille transcription specialist by the Library of Congress. In 1984 at the University of Iowa, Bruce earned a Ph.D.
On receiving his doctorate, Bruce moved to Chardon where he was named director of secondary education and then superintendent. In later years he served as superintendent of Sycamore Schools and then Highland Schools. During his career as a superintendent, Bruce was responsible for building two high schools and three elementary schools. During each of his three terms as a superintendent, the districts achieved the State of Ohio’s highest ratings for student achievement.
Recently the Shelby Food Bank, which serves thousands of needy area residents, presented Bruce with its F.I.S.H. (Friends In Service Here) award for his significant contributions. Says an alumnus, “Bruce remembers his time at SHS with a great deal of pride and gratitude to his teachers. He served as commencement speaker for the Class of 1990.”