Oak Ridge superintendent to retire in June

The Oak Ridge School District soon will be searching for a replacement for its longest-tenured superintendent.

Dr. Gerald Landewee, who will retire June 30, spent four years as the district's elementary school principal, one year as assistant superintendent and elementary principal and the past 12 years in his current role.

Throughout that time, he's filled a variety of roles in the district of 340 students, from sitting in as a teacher during his principal years to being a substitute bus driver on nearly every route.

"It gives you a good perspective of the district ..." he said. "You see where [students] come from, and on their good days or their challenging days. ... You see the entire district, and it's quite a different perspective."

Landewee has no plans after retiring, besides spending more time with his wife and son.

Before joining Oak Ridge, Landewee served five years as an elementary teacher in the Nell Holcomb School District, two years as the principal of Immaculate Conception in Jackson and two years as a principal in the Cape Girardeau School District.

He earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education, a master's in elementary administration and a specialist degree in educational administration, all from Southeast Missouri State University. In 2000, he completed his doctorate in educational leadership from Saint Louis University.

For the past 11 years, Oak Ridge has met the criteria for Distinction in Academic Performance in Southeast Missouri and the district has been within half a point for the top recognition the past two years.

Landewee explained the annual performance report is based on a 140-point system covering end-of-course scores, Missouri Assessment Program scores, ACT and SAT scores, attendance rates, graduation rates and a few other criteria.

"I am extremely proud of the results of the district's Annual Performance Report," he said in a news release. "The academic offerings have grown and been enhanced over the years. The students continue to achieve high standards and the teachers continue to pursue academic excellence."

Academic enhancement is not all Landewee has experienced in his time at Oak Ridge. Throughout his years there, he has overseen replacing almost every roof on Oak Ridge's campus, building a new high school, middle school and multipurpose room, and rebuilding the school after a tornado damaged it in February 2012.

"I remember it vividly," Landewee said. "I remember walking the campus with emergency responders in the dark with a flashlight. After turning the corner of the middle school and hearing the hissing of a broken gas line, it was evident there was damage."

Landewee compares his district to a family. Overseeing 66 staff members, he said the sense of togetherness extends into the community, and by graduation of that year, the people of Oak Ridge had come together and repaired the school enough to host the ceremony.

With the first semester of the school year coming to a close, Landewee said applications and interviews to find his successor would begin in January. By the end of February, he thought a replacement would be found.

"Everyone is a little different," Landewee said of superintendents. "Every administrator brings a different set of strengths to the table. ... I hope that my successor continues to focus on instructional programs for the kids, and focus on the kids themselves."

smaue@semissourian.com

388-3644