Middle school principal promoted to Jackson assistant superintendent

The Jackson School District has a new associate superintendent, but he's a familiar face to many.

The school's Board of Education at a special meeting Tuesday night selected Jackson Middle School principal Matt Lacy to replace Dr. Rita Fisher, who recently retired after 18 years in the position. In his public education career, Lacy also has served as a high school history teacher and assistant principal at Jackson High School.

The recommendation to hire Lacy came from superintendent Ron Anderson. He worked with an administration team at the school to interview applicants and form a final recommendation to bring to the board. The district advertised the position, and received interest from applicants within the district, like Lacy, and from outside areas.

Anderson said the district has a philosophy to "try to grow our own within," when possible, but also looks at qualified applicants outside the district when hiring. He said he felt that Lacy had a "good, solid background" that made him a good fit for the position.

"He has good preparation skills and good relationships," Anderson said. "He's a people person and very confident in how he handles himself."

Lacy said he was excited to be serving the district in a new way.

"My prior focus [as principal] was on one building, which was cool because you had those daily interactions with students," he said. "But now, my focus is on the entire district and focusing on all student needs. There's an opportunity to make a bigger impact."

Like Anderson, Lacy said Fisher, his predecessor, was an excellent leader and he hoped to continue efforts to increase professional development opportunities for teachers.

Another goal for the new associate superintendent is one he carried over from his time as middle school principal. In addition to working closely with the teachers and staff, Lacy said he wants to make the students more engaged when it comes to their education.

"We're a professional learning community focused on helping all kids," he said. "Part of that is keeping students accountable for their own learning. We want to make sure that they've learned what they're supposed to learn."

Lacy said he feels the teachers are doing their part to teach the students, the problem lies with students choosing not to complete assignments or participate in class. The driving purpose behind his goal to hold students more accountable, he said, is to help them "excel" in the future.

"As students get older, they kind of lose that enthusiasm for school," he said. "They loose that excitement they once had for school and we just want to re-energize them."

Lacy said it was his role to help the staff help the students.

"I think the district is in a good place right now," he said. "I just want to continue maintaining and building upon our successes so far."

srinehart@semissourian.com

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