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Schmitz Selected 2025 Missouri Superintendent of the Year

October 19, 2024

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The Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA) has announced the selection of Dr. David Schmitz, Superintendent of the Lebanon School District, as the 2025 Missouri Superintendent of the Year.  Dr. Schmitz was honored during the MSBA/MASA Annual Fall Conference held October 19, 2024, at the Kansas City Convention Center, Kansas City, Missouri.

MASA Executive Director, Dr. Doug Hayter, stated, "Dr. David Schmitz has a true servant’s heart. From the work he has done to improve early childhood education to the support he shows his staff, he is connected to those in his district. Dr. Schmitz has so many wonderful leadership qualities, and I know he will be a great representative of his fellow Missouri superintendents.”

Dr. Schmitz is in his seventh year as Superintendent of the Lebanon School District. Dr. Schmitz has served in multiple roles since he began his career in educational leadership. Dr. Schmitz served as an assistant principal with the Fulton School District; an assistant principal and principal with the Springfield Public Schools; and the Director of Secondary Schools with the Springfield Public Schools.

In his application, Dr. Schmitz noted the Lebanon School District serves 4,500 students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Approximately 60% of the student population qualifies for free or reduced lunches. The district is central to the community of Lebanon and Yellowjacket pride runs deep.

Dr. Schmitz has put considerable emphasis on helping the district’s youngest students find success. Early in his time in Lebanon, he recognized that many of the families his district served were under-resourced. To address the needs of the children of these families, one of his first decisions was to create a Director of Early Childhood Programming. The Early Childhood Director was provided the means to improve the Parents as Teachers Program, and later the district opened an Early Childhood Center that provides community-based parent support through services and education aimed at equipping parents with what they need to feel and be successful.

Dr. Schmitz and his team are also focused on effective communication both within the schools and for the community. The district has implemented a comprehensive multimedia communications strategy centered around consistent messaging focused on their mission and vision. Dr. Schmitz noted, “Our approach ensures we are not only communicating to our district families and staff, but also to residents and taxpayers across our community. The emphasis on using social media for communications comes from consistent feedback in our stakeholder survey, which shows that social media is a preferred medium.”

While survey feedback communicates a strong preference for technology-oriented communication, the district knows a significant portion of their population continues to rely on more traditional print material. In recognition of that, the district publishes two print publications each year, including the Back-to-School Buzz and the Yellowjacket Magazine.

Dr. Schmitz places advocating for public education as a central component of his work as a superintendent. Schmitz actively engages with legislators to ensure Missouri’s public education system is supported by effective laws. Dr. Schmitz is also an advocate for the Success Ready Student Network's (SRSN) work to develop a statewide competency-based, growth-to-mastery assessment system. Those in public education have seen the lack of flexibility in how student achievement is measured, including strict testing mandates and 100% proficiency goals. Dr. Schmitz has worked to, “…emphasize real-world skills, student growth, and post-secondary readiness.” He and others are working with educators, policymakers, and communities to reshape Missouri’s accountability system to reflect the state’s diverse educational needs.

The Missouri Association of School Administrators is pleased to honor Dr. Schmitz as the 2025 Missouri Superintendent of the Year.

Dr. Schmitz will be recognized during the American Association of School Administrators National Conference on Education in March 2025 for his state selection.

About MASA

The Missouri Association of School Administrators is the statewide association of public school superintendents and central office administrators.  MASA develops and supports effective public school leaders who positively impact the lives of Missouri students.