Superintendent Drury, along with 19 other 2009 District Superintendents of the Year, will be honored at the OASA awards banquet on Wednesday, June 10th during the Annual Summer Conference hosted by the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration (CCOSA).
Drury is now eligible for the OASA 2009 Oklahoma Superintendent of the Year competition. The state winner, who will be selected from the 20 District Superintendents of the Year, will be announced during the first general session of the CCOSA conference on June 11. The conference will be held June 10-12 at the Meridian Conference Center in Oklahoma City.
“We congratulate Superintendent Drury and the other top school superintendents for being selected by their colleagues for their dedicated service and accomplishments in the profession,” Crawford stated. He noted, “To be selected a district winner, these superintendents are required to meet certain criteria such as high expectations of students and staff; leadership skills; contributions to their school district and profession; and an active and respected role in the community.”
Drury, Superintendent of Altus Public Schools for the past six years, has 39 years of experience in education. He began his elementary teaching career in Altus in 1969. After leaving Altus schools, he served as superintendent at Eldorado Public Schools from 1978-1980 and at Tipton Schools from 1980-1984. In 1984, he assumed a position at the Tipton Home where he stayed until he returned to Altus as the assistant superintendent in 1999. In January 2003, Mr. Drury was hired as the superintendent of schools for Altus.
After becoming superintendent, Mr. Drury addressed several immediate crises. He led the district through the state-induced financial crisis in 2002-03. Since that time, the district’s financial status has improved yearly under his leadership. He has been a leader in several district initiatives, staying ahead of state law and No Child Left Behind mandates. One initiative was the early implementation of Pre-K programs at all elementary sites in the district.
Mr. Drury was also instrumental in the development of Project 2020 in Altus. This school improvement project was put into place to make necessary changes so that Altus students who were four years-old in 2006 will be able to compete globally when they graduate in 2020. From this project came the 90-percent reading goal in Altus. The Project 2020 initiative also sparked awareness of the need for an improved Altus High School, and a goal was set to have funding in place and construction complete by 2012. In the fall of 2008, Altus citizens overwhelmingly approved in a sales tax issue, MAPS for Altus, to fund school and city building needs. $17 million of the sales tax dollars are now going toward remodeling and new construction at Altus High School, and the project is slated to be complete by 2012.
It is under Mr. Drury’s leadership that instructional decisions have become more data driven, teaching strategies more research-based, and financial management more efficient. These changes were critical to meet the challenges of educating today’s students.
Mr. Drury is a member of the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration and the Oklahoma Association of School Administrators. He was honored as OASA District #13 Administrator of the Year in 2007 and 2005. In Altus, he received the Altus Professional Educators award for the Administrator of the year in 2002 and 2003.
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