Ray Moore graduated from Virginia Tech in 1977 without any special awards or honors. Oh, okay, it was really 1971. He pursued post-graduate work at Tech, The University of Virginia, The University of Maryland, and Catholic University of America. So far he has not earned any post-graduate degrees.
Since 1971, Ray has taught English at all secondary grade levels. He has also taught psychology and journalism.
In 1974, after two years as an assistant wrestling coach, he was asked to coach the boys tennis team, which had enjoyed a 0-10 record the previous season. Since the only experience Ray had with tennis was that he had once seen a tennis racquet, he went out and bought two books
The first was a basic primer on tennis and the second was They Call Me Coach by John Wooden. While Ray never got very good at tennis - he was beaten regularly by his pregnant wife - he did learn something from John Wooden about coaching a team by addressing character and attitude. According to Wooden a player's conduct off the court affects his play on the court. It was then that Ray was introduced to Wooden's Pyramid of Success. Fifteen to twenty minutes of each daily practice was devoted to teaching players the precepts of this book. The first year Ray coached the team, the record was 4-6; the next year, 6-4. Then, 8-2 and finally 10-0. Mercifully for tennis purists everywhere, two area high schools were merged to create Salem High School. Quite appropriately, the coach of the other school was hired to coach the new team. That coach actually knew how to play tennis.
In 1982, Ray made the mistake of volunteering to help sponsor the school yearbook. Somewhere along the line, he became certified to teach journalism, so the principal turned down his request, but asked him to take over the school newspaper instead. Unfortunately, Ray accepted. He immediately lost 30 pounds. The stress of being responsible for student work that others could actually see took its toll. Although he tried to get out of this assignment annually, he was able to take a four-page mimeographed (yes, it was that long ago) newspaper and turn it into a top-rate scholastic newspaper. The paper was regularly judged Silver Crown by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association garnering All-Columbian awards in most categories. In 1985, The Oracle won first place in the nation for its front page coverage of a 100-year flood. Finally, his pleas were heard, and he was relieved of his duties as newspaper sponsor in 1990.
In 1991, Ray was asked to chair a committee that would look into the problems that freshman were experiencing at Salem High School. Although one would think that Ray would have learned not to say yes, he did accept. After all, he knew that most committees meet a few times and then fade into oblivion. However, this one did not. The result was The Freshman Transition Program, which has grown and improved each year since its inception. Beginning in 1995, Ray and Alan Seibert began offering seminars in freshman transition at regional High Schools That Work conferences in Atlanta and Indianapolis. Those presentations led to seminars in individual schools in Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. When Alan went over to the dark side of the force and became an administrator, Ray carried on making the presentations until Scott Habeeb became a member of the Freshman Transition Team in 1997. In 1999, Alan returned to the high school to complete the present triumvirate.
While Ray has many regrets in life (including dumping a trash can on the head of his seventh-grade math teacher), he believes that his greatest accomplishments in life are his three children. All were championship athletes and did better than he did in school (thank goodness). His son Seth is a financial analyst for Lockheed-Martin. Ben is a divinity student in Richmond. His daughter Moriah has recently returned form 2 years in the Peace Corps.
Ray was selected Teacher of the Year in Salem in 1995.
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