Public education is a people business, according to Mineral County Schools Superintendent Troy Ravenscroft.
“The most important resource is the people—especially our students. We have great people working for Mineral County Schools and across West Virginia.”
The district’s superintendent since July 2019, Ravenscroft said he is a proud product of Mineral County Schools and the surrounding community.
“I always describe Mineral County as the ‘largest small county, and the smallest large county’ as our enrollment places us around the middle of the list statewide. We have a little over 4,000 students attending our 14 schools,” Ravenscroft said. “I love Mineral County — it’s my home. I enjoy getting to work close to home, near my family members and friends.”
As superintendent, he’s faced many challenges, but he believes that perhaps the most pressing issue for school leaders is the challenge of finding the right people to serve as those caring adults in students’ lives.
“To ensure our students receive the best possible education and have the best supports in place, we must consistently work to ensure can fill our open positions with great candidates,” Ravenscroft said. “To provide the highest quality instruction in a safe and healthy environment, our collective focus must be on addressing our staffing shortage and the ‘right now’ issues as well as the more serious staffing issues on the horizon. To do this, we’ll need help from our state lawmakers and higher education agencies.”
He believes our shared goal must be to make sure public education agencies, such as our 55 school districts, can effectively recruit, hire, train, support, and retain the best workforce possible as student success depends on it.
Superintendent Ravenscroft earned his M.Ed. from the University of North Florida and his bachelor’s degree in K-6 education from Fairmont State University. Prior to his role as county superintendent, he served as an assistant superintendent and principal within Grant County Schools and a fifth-grade teacher in Clay County, Florida.
When he’s not busy leading his district, he enjoys spending time with his wife of 15 years, Juli, and their two children: Case, age 10, and Kara, age 8.
Getting To Know Superintendent Ravenscroft
Favorite Book: “The Sender” by Kevin Elko
Favorite Movie: Remember the Titans
Favorite Song: “It depends on my mood, but I generally listen to country. If I have to pick, Brad Paisley.”
Favorite Hobbies: “My favorite hobbies mainly revolve around my family and their activities. I like to play ball with my kids, watch sports, and relax with the family.”
Professional Affiliations
- West Virginia School Superintendents’ Association (WVASA)
- School Superintendents’ Association (AASA)
- Mineral County Development Authority
- Eastern Panhandle Instructional Cooperative (EPIC)
- Keyser Moose #662
- Keyser Rotary Club