After 26 years working at Lawrence High School, social studies teacher Jack Hood is preparing for a well-deserved retirement. 

Over his 34 years in education, he has propelled LHS through three state championships, taught several AP courses, and left a legacy of the dedication and care that has become a signature of his teaching and coaching. 

Testaments to Hood’s coaching successes will likely hang in the gym for decades to come, but to him, his success as an educator is defined by more than medals and accolades.

“In my heart, I didn’t go into this to be a coach,” Hood said. “I went into this to be a teacher first, and I hope my legacy is that of the thousands of kids that I’ve taught or coached. I hope I’ve left them better than they were when they entered my class. I hope I helped them be better people, better students, better brothers, better sisters, better whatever. And if I’ve done that at all and had a relationship with the kids… hopefully that’s my legacy.”  

As Hood leaves LHS, his influence will continue through his successor, head track and field coach Audrey Trowbridge, whom he both coached as a student athlete and eventually trained as his replacement. 

“Watching [Trowbridge] go from school student to young coach to head coach has been one of those rewarding arcs in my career,” Hood said. 

His impact has been felt both by his students and those with whom he has worked over his many years of teaching.

“He’s a mentor, he’s a role model, he has set a standard for how to go about coaching because he’s such an outstanding teacher,” Trowbridge said. “He taught me how to break down skills, teach them, and coach them. He set high expectations for behavior, for attendance, for being a competitor, and taught me that setting those expectations is what it means to be a coach.” 

When asked to summarize Hood’s character, the first word Trowbridge said was “dedicated.” Throughout his career, Hood has always put his everything into his teaching and coaching, and many teachers who worked with him have fond memories of his compelling dedication, whether it be at the side of a track or in the front of his classroom.

“He has always been here for the students. I can remember him hobbling around at Wichita State Track Meet after he’d had a serious fight with Gout and was in immense pain and could barely move, but he was still there coaching and doing his best for the kids,” Lori Stussie, a longtime coworker of Hood, said. 

Hood is looking forward to retirement, but is grateful to have been able to work with the students and teachers at LHS. 

“I certainly am proud of all of the awards that I’ve won, but it wasn’t ever about me,” Hood said. “It was really about the kids; I’m more proud about helping kids win a state title, helping a kid graduate, helping a kid move on in life. To me, that’s a bigger reward than any trophy or anything like that.”