LORDSTOWN Principal leaves a legacy of caring

National Honor Society students want to name the auditorium in the principal's honor.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LORDSTOWN -- Larry Crawford is ready for a new challenge after 18 years as principal at Lordstown High School.
Crawford, 53, of Howland, is leaving to be educational supervisor at Trumbull Career and Technical Center. His successor hasn't been named.
"There comes a point in time when you need to move in a new direction," Crawford said.
But still the departure is difficult.
"I have wonderful, wonderful memories of this place, and it's not easy to leave, but I want another challenge," he said.
A sign on the school office door last week bade farewell to the longtime principal. Students in the National Honor Society proposed naming the high school auditorium in his honor.
Feels honored
"I'm really honored by that," Crawford said. "It's really gratifying. I've received cards and letters from students that are in school now, former students and parents of students. Some have said that a letter I wrote to them made a difference. That's heartwarming for me."
Crawford writes letters to students, commending them when they do something well or recognizing a good deed. He estimates he sends up to 1,000 letters each year. Crawford hopes to bring his letter-writing campaign to TCTC.
"I've always enjoyed writing," he said. "I thought it would be a way of reaching young people. A lot of this job is concerned with discipline. This is a way to highlight the good things they do."
He also used his way with words to persuade prominent people to speak to students. Crawford started his career as a social studies teacher in 1971 at Warren G. Harding High School. He reads a lot, and when he finds someone he thinks would interest or benefit the students, he often writes, asking them to speak.
Many, from foreign dignitaries to military personnel, accept.
Standout speakers
A man who dropped the atomic bomb at Hiroshima during World War II and a Japanese woman whose mother was killed in the attack are two speakers who stand out in Crawford's mind.
"He talked about how it was the right thing to do. It was an act of war and it was retaliation for Pearl Harbor, and that it saved a lot of American lives because we didn't have to invade Japan," he said.
The woman, who was a child living in Japan at the time of attack, believed it didn't need to happen. The two people talked about the same event from different perspectives.
Another memorable speaker was Robert Rosenberg, a son of Julius and Ethel Rosenburg, who were convicted in 1951 of wartime espionage and executed in 1953. He told the students of his belief that his parents were caught in a government conspiracy.
The next day, an FBI agent who worked on the case detailed some of the evidence gathered during the investigation.
A visit by the Iraqi ambassador to the United States in 1990 resulted in a visit to the Middle Eastern country by a small group of teachers and students. The visit was for two weeks, and the Iraqi government picked up the tab.
"Our students were probably some of the last Americans ever invited to Iraq by the government," Crawford said.
New emphasis
The state emphasis on proficiency tests has curtailed the number of speakers visiting the school each year. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, between 70 and 80 speakers visited the school each year. That number has dropped to between 30 and 35 in recent years.
In deciding whom to invite to talk to students, Crawford looked for people who effected change. He wanted to show students how what they were learning in the classroom could be applied outside of it.
Crawford initially considered a career in law but while working summers, supervising children in a playground program, he discovered he enjoyed working with kids and shifted his career aims.
"I've never regretted it," Crawford said.
He points to Jim Hall, superintendent of South Range schools, as his educational role model. Hall was an English teacher at Warren John F. Kennedy when Crawford was a student there. Hall also was serving as Lordstown superintendent when Crawford was hired there.
"He always saw the good in other people," Crawford said. "He took the time to find something students had done right. That's what I've tried to do."
dick@vindy.com