AASA Names Finalists for 2015 National Superintendent
of the Year Finalists include superintendents from Florida,
Georgia, Louisiana and Virginia Alexandria, Va. – Dec. 17, 2014 – AASA, The School Superintendents Association, announced today the finalists for the 2015 National Superintendent of the Year. This year marks the 28th anniversary of the
program, which honors school system leaders throughout the country. Co-sponsored by Aramark, VALIC and AASA, the 2015 National Superintendent of the Year will be announced during AASA’s 150th
anniversary celebration at the National Conference on Education, Feb. 26-28, 2015, in San Diego, Calif. The four finalists for the 2015 AASA National
Superintendent of the Year are: MaryEllen Elia, Hillsborough
County Public Schools, Tampa, Fla. Elia,
a lifelong educator, began her career as a social studies teacher in the state
of New York in 1970. In 1986, she relocated to the Tampa Bay area after
accepting a position at Plant High School as a reading resource specialist. She
was promoted to several key positions in the district over the next 20 years.
Elia was named the 2014 Florida Excellence in Education Award winner by
AdvancED/SACS. In 2013, she was honored as the Just Read! Florida
Superintendent of the Year, as well as the Tampa Bay Business Journal Woman of
the Year. Philip Lanoue, Clarke
County School District, Athens, Ga. With a proven track record in leading school reform and building positive community/school relationships, Lanoue’s leadership experience transcends geographical regions and has included rural, suburban and urban settings. Under his leadership, the Clarke County School District has been honored as a Title I Distinguished District for being Georgia’s No. 1 large district in closing the achievement gap between economically disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students. Lanoue has consistently brought schools and districts to higher levels of academic achievement, and the district’s graduation rate is now above the state average in every subgroup. The district is also one of the 2013 & 2014 Best Communities in Music Education as named by the National Association of Music Merchants. Patrick Murphy, Arlington
Public Schools, Arlington, Va. Murphy is a native of Northern Virginia, current resident of Arlington County and has been an educator since 1988. Since joining APS as superintendent, Murphy has focused on academic rigor, and academic and course planning. He has also highlighted the continuum of the educational journey for students from pre-kindergarten through post-secondary, emphasizing preparation of students and families to ensure successful transitions between all school levels (elementary to middle, middle to high and high to post-secondary opportunities). His continuous improvement efforts led to the recent Medallion of Excellence awarded to Arlington Public Schools by the U.S. Senate Productivity Quality Award - Virginia touting APS’s alignment with the Baldrige criteria. Patrice Pujol, Ascension Public
Schools, Donaldsonville, La. Pujol
is a 38-year educator who has long been at the forefront of school and district
improvement efforts. She was the principal of St. Amant High School, where she
used innovative scheduling models to drive improved teaching and learning. She
has served as the director of secondary schools, the director of school improvement,
and assistant superintendent for the Ascension Parish School System. Pujol has
initiated and implemented such innovations as the instructional coach program,
district wide curriculum framework with benchmark assessments, and a leadership
assessment and development program. Her district has implemented an aggressive
plan to provide one-to-one computing devices to all students in order to
transform the teaching and learning experience. “As a founding sponsor of AASA’s National Superintendent of the Year program, Aramark congratulates the four finalists we are announcing today,” said Jeff Gilliam, president, Aramark. “We thank these talented educators for their hard work and dedication to ensuring brighter futures for the students in their respective school districts. We are proud to partner with AASA and VALIC in this important program.” “VALIC is committed to advancing our nation’s public education agenda which is why we are so proud to salute the four finalists for the 2015 AASA National Superintendent of the Year,” said Glenn Harris, executive vice president, group management and national markets, VALIC. “The superior leadership our finalists have shown over the past year has positively influenced not only the students and schools they serve in their own communities, but the nation at large. We thank these superintendents for the work they do.” “On behalf of everyone working to improve student success and provide quality public education for our nation’s children, it is an honor to congratulate the finalists for the 2015 AASA National Superintendent of the Year,” said Daniel A. Domenech, executive director, AASA. “These individuals are dedicated to ensuring that students in their school systems receive the best education possible. We look forward to honoring these outstanding superintendents as well as all of the State Superintendents of the Year when we celebrate our 150th anniversary at
the National
Conference on Education in February.” The AASA National Superintendent of the Year program is open
to all U.S. superintendents who plan to continue in the profession. The program
also honors Canadian and International School superintendents. The applicants
were measured against the following criteria: = Leadership for learning – creativity in successfully meeting the needs of students in the school system. = Communication – strength in both personal and organizational communication. = Professionalism – constant improvement of administrative knowledge and skills, while providing professional development opportunities and motivation to others on the education team. = Community involvement – active participation in local community activities and an understanding of regional, national and international issues.
A $10,000 college scholarship will be presented in the name of the 2015 AASA National
Superintendent of the Year to a student in the high school from which the
superintendent graduated, or the school now serving the same area.
For more information about AASA’s National Superintendent of the Year program, contact Paula Dearden, AASA director of awards and scholarships, at pdearden@aasa.org. Click here
to access a list of the AASA 2015 State
Superintendents of the Year. ### About Aramark
Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) delivers experiences that enrich and nourish people’s lives through innovative services in food, facilities management, and uniforms. United by a passion to serve, our more than 270,000 employees make a meaningful difference each day for millions of people in 22 countries around the world. Aramark is recognized among the Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE and World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute. Learn more at www.aramark.com or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter. About VALIC
For more than half a century, VALIC has
served as a leading retirement plan provider for K-12 schools and school
districts, as well as for higher education, healthcare, government and other
not-for-profit institutions. As of June 30, 2014, VALIC has more than $88
billion in total assets under management and manages plans for nearly 24,000
groups serving nearly 2 million plan participants. VALIC represents The
Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company and its subsidiaries, VALIC Financial
Advisors, Inc. and VALIC Retirement Services Company. For more information
about VALIC, please visit www.VALIC.com. About AASA
AASA,
The School Superintendents Association, founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. AASA’s mission is to support and develop effective school system leaders who are dedicated to the highest quality public education for all children. For more information, visit www.aasa.org. |