Martin RingstaffMartin Ringstaff, director of Cleveland City Schools, has been named the Southeast Tennessee Superintendent of the Year by the Tennessee Association of School Superintendents.
Ringstaff, who just finished his third year in the job, was chosen by his peers based on the criteria of leadership for learning, communication, professionalism and community involvement, a news release from the school system states.
"It's humbling," he said of the honor. "The school board has been very supportive ... and key to me being successful through embracing a servant-leadership style that supports great ideas. We want to foster leadership at the schools and empower the principals and teachers. To me that's what it's all about."
Ringstaff will be one of eight nominees for Tennessee superintendent of the year honors.
He was the only superintendent in Tennessee chosen for the inaugural class of the AASA National Superintendent Certification Program. Twenty-eight superintendents from across the nation are taking part in the two-year program that ends in February 2015.
He recently was reappointed for a second term on the Common Core Leadership Council for the Tennessee Department of Education.
Ringstaff is married to Heather Ringstaff, a math teacher at Cleveland High School, and they have three children.