(Right to Left): Governor Bill Haslam, Dr. David Stephens, Wayne Miller (TOSS Executive Director)
The Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS) met in Gatlinburg, TN on September 11th for their annual Awards and Recognition Dinner. The 2017 Tennessee Superintendent of the Year was announced at the banquet on Sunday night. This year TOSS was honored to present the award to Dr. David Stephens of Bartlett City Schools, representing the Southwest/Memphis region.
Dr. Stephens was chosen for this honor out of a distinguished group of eight Regional Superintendents of the Year, which included Ms. Rebecca Isaacs (Rogersville City), First Tennessee; Dr. Jason Vance (Loudon County), East; Mr. Bobby Cox (Warren County), Upper Cumberland; Dr. Dan Lawson (Tullahoma City), South Central; Mr. Don Roberts (Meigs County), Southeast; Mr. Mike Davis (Robertson County), Mid-Cumberland; and Mr. Randy Frazier (Weakley County), Northwest.
Dr. Stephens earned his Bachelor’s and Doctorate degrees from the University of Memphis and his Master’s degree from Trevecca Nazarene University. He has served as the Director of Schools in Bartlett since the district’s creation in 2014. Dr. Stephens was able to successfully start a school district and freshmen academy in just six short months after assuming his role. The new President-Elect of TOSS, John Aitken, said of his peer and friend, “David has managed to do a lot of great things for his district and do them really well, so I cannot think of anyone who is more deserving than him.”
TOSS Executive Director Wayne Miller stated, “We are very proud of David for winning the State Superintendent of the Year Award. The work that he has done has been exemplary, especially given the fact that he created the district from scratch just a short time ago. David and his school and district leaders are always very active in professional development. Being recognized for his good work comes as no surprise.”
Dr. Stephens will submit his application for the National Superintendent of the Year sponsored by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), and he will represent the state of Tennessee at the AASA National Conference on Education.
