The Norwood City Schools enjoy a long and rich history, one that dates back more than 150 years, when a one-room school house, Central School, was built at the corner of Elm Avenue and Montgomery Road. The first class to graduate from Norwood was in 1899. In honor of that occasion and the 107 graduations that followed, the Norwood Alumni Association has established a “Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame.” The third induction ceremony was held on September 25, 2009. The following distinguished Norwood graduates will be the third recipients of this honor:

U.S. Air Force Colonel Richard Ely, Class of 1951, was the first pilot to fly 100 missions in Vietnam in an F-105. He received man medals and awards. Some of his service memorabilit is displayed at th National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton. (posthumously)

Wayman E. Brown, Class of 1953 is an artist with works in all fields of drawing, painting and sculpture. He has exhibited in one-man shows worldwide. He worked for 35 years at GE  Aircraft Engines as manager of customre relations and communication service.

Sandra Woeste Heimann, Class of 1961, is Vice-President of  American Financial, Vice-President of American Money Management and Great American Insurance Company. She is a member of the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees.

James R. Ballinger, Class of 1962, progressed from a student at North Norwood Elementary in the 1950s to Superintendent of Norwood City Schools in 1992, a position he held through 1998. In between, he held teaching and principal positions in Norwood's school system.


The aforementioned honorees have graced the halls of our schools, reached into the world and made a difference.

Today, we are preserving the district’s history by maintaining our schools, most of which were built around the 1910s. Many class reunions request tours of the buildings they attended and the most frequent comment is “the building is not as large as I remember.” Currently, we have an elementary school in each quadrant of the city. Norwood Middle School was the high school until 1972, when a newer, more modern building was constructed next door. In 1972, the “new” NHS was considered a state-of-the-art building, housing a planetarium, television studio, greenhouse and swimming pool. The swimming pool in the middle school was filled in several years ago and is now used as a wrestling room.

The community embraces their historic buildings with all the character of days gone by. With available - and limited funds - the district puts forth great effort to maintain the buildings with security systems and modern day amenities for our students.