After 43 years in education and 12 remarkable years as Stanislaus County Superintendent of Schools, Tom Changnon will retire effective January 4, 2019.

It was January of 2007 when Tom Changnon took his place at the helm of the Stanislaus County Office of Education. After being sworn into office at the County Board of Supervisors meeting, he walked through the front doors of SCOE’s main downtown Modesto office and employees greeted him with a round of applause. Today, those same employees would give him a standing ovation.

In his 12 years in office, Changnon has championed Civics Education, Character Development, Parent Involvement and Career Technical Education (CTE) programs. He knows that providing options for all students is critical as shown in the equal value he places on college and career prep programs.

Numerous innovative programs were implemented during his tenure. Knowing not all students flourish in a traditional school setting, one of the first programs he brought to the County was the Stanislaus Military Academy (SMA). In addition to the academic program, military cadets undergo rigorous training with an emphasis on drill and ceremony, leadership, team-building and character education. The Tactical Character Academy was modeled after SMA, but for younger students. He implemented Come Back Kids (CBK) to help adults (ages 18+) who wanted to come back and earn their high school diploma. To date, 800 diplomas have been awarded through the CBK program.