For all of his professional life up to now, Franklin Elementary School Principal Roger Havens has called the Wadsworth School District home.
“I’ve traveled around the state of Ohio, going to conferences, visiting other schools, but I’ve always felt that there’s no place like home,” said Havens.
And home is Wadsworth. Havens was born and raised in the city of Wadsworth and attended Wadsworth Public Schools. “I was born in the old Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital. Grew up on Wolf Avenue until our family moved to Broad Street when I was in the second grade.” He graduated from Wadsworth High School and attended college at the University of Akron.
“I majored in Elementary Education and got my Masters’ Degree in Administration,” said Havens.
His professional career began with teaching 5th grade at Isham Elementary School. Wadsworth School Leaders eventually noticed the Masters Degree in Administration on his resume and wanted Havens to move his professional career in that direction.
Havens has led elementary buildings in Wadsworth for 30 years. He started at Valley View Elementary School. He was the principal at both the old Lincoln and the old Franklin Elementary Schools for nine years. “At that time, both buildings together had less than 500 students,” said Havens.
Franklin Elementary has been named as a 2015 Hall of Fame School by the Ohio Elementary School Association. “It’s a four-step process to recieve the award. You have to be nominated, fill out the application, submit it, then undergo and interview process,” said Havens.
The award will be given during the Association’s annual convention in June in Columbus. “They told me I could invite 8 guests to the awards luncheon, but I got the number increased to 16 because there are so many people to thank,” Havens said.
Being the leader of an Elementary School building is not an easy task. “Every day is a unique experience,” said Havens. “You never know what’s behind the next door or what kind of comment a child will make.”
Roger Havens also has a unique perspective on Wadsworth. “I remember hearing the whistles blowing at the Match and Injector factories. Playing in the streets in the summer, playing in Varney’s Woods and seeing Valley View Park being built.”
We salute Wadsworthian Roger Havens!
