Welcome Back Wolves! This week The Ravine is excited to highlight our first 6 Wolves of the Week for 2025-2026 school year- The Administration Team!
Starting off strong we have our principal, Mr. Thomas!
Mr. Thomas has been in education for 27 years and he’s been at Kilbourne for nine. One fun fact about him is that he had a perm in high school. The thing he is most looking forward to with construction is the new student commons in the lunchroom area.
His words were “It will be one fluid space like the commons on a college campus. I’m looking forward to being able to stand at one end and look across to another. It should be a really cool space.”
Mr. Thomas’ office is currently located in the administrative office, and his door is open for students!
His piece of advice to students is that “High school is about learning what you like and don’t like. So try it, you might like it. Don’t be the kid who wishes they tried stuff out.”
Next we have Assistant Principal, Mr. Alexander.
Mr. Alexander deals mainly with students (A-K) but his door is open to any and all students always! He has been at Kilbourne for four years but has spent 8 in education. Mr. Alexander went to OSU to play D1 lacrosse and he played 10 seasons of pro lacrosse for Ohio Machine and Archers Lax Club.
This year he is looking forward to “Interacting with students. I feel like I’ve got my footing here now and I get to watch my first class of kids who are now seniors graduate.”
Mr. Alexander has definitely gotten his footing since first starting here at Kilbourne, he is a dedicated athletic event attendee and a consistent and fun presence at school events, always showing up to support his students both in and out of the classroom.
His one piece of advice to students is “Go to class on time and you’ll be ahead of the game.”
Next up we have Assistant Principal Mrs. Leiding.
Mrs. Leiding deals with mainly students (A-K) as well but just like Mr. Alexander and the other assistant principals, her door is always open to all students! Mrs. Leiding has been in education for 19 years, and before coming to Kilbourne she taught French. She has been at Kilbourne for two years now, but she’s already become an important part of our school. You can often find her walking around the school during the day or participating in dance classes on culture days as she used to teach latin dancing and still loves to dance.
She is excited this year to “[Get] to know more students and [be] more acclimated with Kilbourne since it’s so different from where [I’m] from.”
Mrs. Leiding shared an incredibly valuable piece of advice.
She says, “‘Embrace your weird’ we rely too often on what others think instead of what we authentically feel, so just be who you are and don’t be afraid to fail.”
Next we have Assistant Principal Mr. Peterson.
Mr. Peterson mainly deals with students with last names (L-K), but he is welcoming and excited to interact with any and all students at Kilbourne. This is Mr. Peterson’s 6th year as staff at Kilbourne, but his 10th attending Kilbourne and his 19th in Worthington Schools. Mr. Peterson has been a Worthington student and community member his whole life, and 25 years ago this August he started his first day at Kilbourne as a freshman. A freshman with frosted tips and pierced ears. He has been in education for 15 years and started as a Spanish teacher and translator. He has also been involved with coaching during his time in education and while he was at Kilbourne, he got to experience Mr. Sprunger’s first year head-coaching the boys Varisty soccer team. This year Mr. Peterson is, “Excited about our staff’s strength. They are new but the best of the best. It’s also pretty exciting how construction is coming together super well.” His advice to Kilbourne students is to “Get involved and take smart risks.”
Our last Assistant Principal on this year’s staff is Mrs. Travis.
She is new to Kilbourne this year but definitely not new to education. She also deals with students (L-Z) mainly, but her door remains open to all. She has spent 22 years in education, teaching Language Arts and Science and serving as an Assistant Principal and Principal at other schools before Kilbourne. Mrs. Travis has been a vegetarian her entire life, which I believe showcases her dedication, and this year she is looking forward to, “leaning into being part of the Worthington community.” She has kids in the district also so she is excited to be able to ,ean into multiple areas of the amazing community here in Worthington.
Her piece of advice to Kilbourne students is, “Get involved, find anything that you like to do and do it.”
And last, but certainly not least, our Athletic Director Mr. Todd. Mr. Todd has spent 16 years here at Kilbourne, and he taught Physical Education at Bluffsview before coming here. One fun fact about him is that he loves to cook on his grill and he has two kids here at Kilbourne. Mr Todd is excited to, “Enjoy all the new and updated spaces from construction” this year, and his piece of advice to students is, “Find a way to get involved in a way that will connect you to your peers.”
Kilbourne is so lucky to have such an amazing staff headed by an experienced, personal and committed administrative team. This year is going to be great!
