Front (L to R) Richard Shaw, Dawn Robinson, Peggy Pesterfield, Evelyn Rockholt,
Dr. Martin Ringstaff (Supt.) Back (L to R) Steve Morgan, Tom Cloud, Murl Dirksen

Members

Board Members

Dawn Robinson represents the third district.  She was born in Rock Island, IL. and grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Dawn earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, which she followed with classroom teaching experience in Memphis. Dawn is a bookkeeper for  Drs. Robinson and Anderson. Dawn is a member of  Broad Street United Methodist Church and has served on their Board of Trustees. She is a past president of the Bradley County Medical Auxiliary, past president of the Stuart School PTO, past president of the Cleveland Middle School PTO, and served four terms as president of the Cleveland High School Band Boosters. She and her husband, Dr. Don Robinson, have lived in Cleveland since 1977. They have four children who have been educated in the Cleveland City Schools. Dawn has achieved  Level 5 Boardsmanship (Master School Board Member) from the TSBA. She was the 1998 recipient of the C. Hal Henard Distinguished Service Award as School Board Member of the Year for the State of Tennesseeand Chairman of the All Tennessee School Board that year.  She is a Past President of the Tennessee School Boards Association. Dawn is a a charter member of TSBA Scholar’s Circle.  She is a two time recipient of the NSBA Award for Distinguished Service.  She is a member of the Board of Examiners for the State Department of Education and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Tennessee School Boards Risk Management Trust.  She holds a certificate from the Local Government Leadership Program from the University of Tennessee.  Dawn was appointed to the Cleveland City School Board in 1995 by the Cleveland City Commission and re-elected in 1998, 2002, and 2006. She has served seven terms as Board Chairman.
 Peggy Pesterfield (Chairman) was elected to represent the Fourth District in August of 2006. Peggy has a BA degree in Psychology and French from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and an MS degree in School Psychology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She has thirty years of experience in education as a classroom teacher of French, Psychology, and Sociology, a school counselor, school psychologist, and as the Supervisor of Student Services. As Supervisor of Student Services, she had supervision over Special Education, School Counseling, Health Services, and the Homebound Program. Twenty-eight of her thirty years in education were served in the Cleveland City School System. During her tenure with the Cleveland City Schools, she was named a State Finalist for Tennessee Teacher of the Year, achieved Career Ladder III, was honored by the Hiwassee Council for “Outstanding Service to Children and Families” and recognized by Kappa Delta Pi for dedication to students and the field of education. Peggy and her husband Joe Pesterfied are active in Broad Street United Methodist Church were she currently serves as Staff-Parish Committee Chair. Peggy is a Board member of the Bradley-Cleveland Services, the Behavioral Research Institute, the Cleveland Symphony Guild and Friends of the Library. She and her husband have three children and five grandchildren. Two of their children and their spouses live in Cleveland and one in Birmingham, Alabama. Brian Pesterfield is a local Builder, Andy Pesterfield, a CPA in Birmingham, and Aimee Pesterfield Salazar is a local veterinarian. All three children attended Mayfield Elementary, Cleveland Middle and graduated from Cleveland High School before going on to receive their college degrees.  Peggy has received the NSBA Award for Distinguished Service and is a Level 3 school board member in the TSBA boardsmanship program.

 Steve Morgan represents the City At-Large for the Cleveland School Board.  He worked at Cleveland Plywood for over twenty years before retiring three years ago.  Steve attended Cleveland State Community College and received his diploma from the University of Madrid, Spain in International and Cultural Studies.  He also attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in Pre-Law.  Steve is a Licensed Minister with First Baptist Church where he and his family are members.  Steve is also a certified Community Service Chaplain through the Church of God Theological Seminary.  Steve and his wife Cheri have two daughters Sara and Molly who attend the Cleveland City Schools.  Steve is an advocate for children with disabilities, and has traveled abroad to assist blind children in orphanages.  He is passionate about the education offered to all of our children in Cleveland.  Steve has Multiple Sclerosis and is blind from the effects of the disease. He was elected to the Cleveland City School Board in August of 2008.

 Tom Cloud  represents the 5^th district on the Cleveland City School Board of Education.  He retired from Cleveland City Schools in May 05 after 12 years of teaching elementary school. Most of that time was at E. L. Ross Elementary School. Other experience includes Arnold and Prospect Elementary Schools. Prior to teaching, he was employed with the State of Tennessee Department of Correction and Employment Security. His total years with the State and teaching totaled 32. Tom is a veteran of the U.S. Army having served in Vietnam in the early 1970’s. He hold a Master’s Degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in Supervision and Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree from the State of New York, and attended Lee University. He graduated from Bradley Central High School in Cleveland, TN. His goal on the Board of Education is to reestablish harmony and trust with the staff of Cleveland City Schools. As a teacher, he fully understands how trust between the two can create an atmosphere to continue to move our system forward and increase teaching, learning, and performance of our teachers and students. He also wishes to strive to be accessible to everyone in and out of his district.  He is married to his wife Jeanie.

 Richard Shaw  is an at-large representative on the School Board. He retired from 30 years of teaching and coaching at Cleveland High School in 2008. Richard holds degrees from West Chester State University and UTC, and has engaged in Post Graduate studies at UTK, Emory University, Penn State, and UTC. He is a Stokely Fellow at UTK. Prior to coming to Cleveland High School, Richard taught in New Jersey for six years and at Cleveland Middle School for four. While teaching social studies, including AP and Dual Enrollment, at CHS he coached football for 30 years including the state championship years. In addition to his teaching and coaching, Richard served as Model United Nations Advisor from 1982-2006, Director Student Activities from 1997 – 2008, and Student Government Association Advisor from 1997 – 2005. He was also an adjunct instructor at CSCC in European History. In 2007 Richard was honored with The Lillie Frank Fitzgerald Excellence in Teaching Award, an addition to numerous awards and honors received during his 40 year career. Currently he is a Student Teacher Supervisor for Lee University. Richard is a Lector at St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church. He and his wife Barbara have been married for 35 years and have a daughter, Jennifer Shaw Spezia, son in law Anthony Spezia III, and three grandchildren, Tony IV, Dominic, and Anna Bella.
 Murl Dirksen (Vice Chairman) is a veteran member of the Department of History and Political Science at Lee University. He has served more than 10 years as the department chair and is one of the few Lee professors that has received both the Excellence in Scholarship Award (1993) and the Excellence in Teaching Award (1991). He also completed post-doctoral studies at Duke University and has been a visiting professor at University of Florida under the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is the cultural anthropologist on a multi-disciplinary research team working on the Karak Plateau in central Jordan. He spent a several years in China at Henan University and Anhui Teachers College in the late eighties. Under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Dirksen serves as the project director for developing curriculum and student travel to Latin American.   Locally, he serves on the Board of Directors of the local affiliate of Habitat and is a member of the Hopi Mission School Foundation Board in Arizona. He has travel and lived in over 35 countries.  Dirksen grew up in the village of Kykotsmovi on the Hopi Reservation and attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. He holds the following degrees: B.A., M.A.T., University of Tennessee at Chattanooga,  Ph.D., University of Tennessee at Knoxville.  He and his wife Carolyn, Vice-President of Academics at Lee University, have a daughter, Sara, who attended Arnold Elementary School and is a graduate of Cleveland High School.  Sara is presently a music major at Lee University. Dirksen enjoys “teaching”, skiing, swimming, and playing tennis.  Murl represents the second district on the City School Board and was elected in 2004.