The Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS) met in Gatlinburg, Tennessee on September 18th, 2022, for their annual Awards Banquet. The 2023 Tennessee Superintendent of the Year was announced at the banquet on Sunday night. This year the honored award recipient was Dr. Danny Weeks of Dickson County Schools, representing the Mid-Cumberland region of Tennessee.
Dr. Weeks was selected for this honor from a distinguished group of eight Regional Superintendents of the Year, which included Mr. Bill Hall (Scott County Schools), East; Mr. John English (Unicoi County Schools), First; Mr. Mark Florence (Benton County Schools), Northwest; Mr. Benny Pace (Lewis County Schools), South Central; Mr. Clint Baker (Meigs County Schools), Southeast; Mr. Shawn Kimble (Lauderdale County Schools), Southwest; and Ms. Kristy Brown (Jackson County Schools), Upper Cumberland Tennessee.
Raised in Greenbrier, Tennessee by lifelong educators, Dr. Danny Weeks learned the value of an education, a Christian home, and the importance of hard work and dedication. Dr. Weeks attended public schools in Robertson County, Tennessee, graduating from Greenbrier High School. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Austin Peay State University in 1987, the Master of Arts in Education in 1989 and the Educational Specialist degree in 1991. He earned the Doctorate in Education from Tennessee State University in 1994.
Prior to accepting the Superintendency at Dickson County Schools, Dr. Weeks spent his education career in Robertson County. His career began as a mathematics teacher at the high school from which he graduated, Greenbriar High School. In Robertson County, he went on to hold the titles of Assistant Principal, Principal, Supervisor of Secondary Education and Student Services, and finally Assistant Director of Schools from 2005-2012.
Since becoming the Director of Schools in Dickson County, Dr. Weeks has put an emphasis on supporting his community. He believes that teachers are the most important factor influencing student success and has implemented practices to further support his teachers and administrators. During the last three years, Dickson County Schools has restructured the Special Education Department in an effort to close, and eventually eliminate, their achievement gap between special education and regular education students. Under his leadership, Dickson County Schools has received the Tennessee Department of Education’s “Best for All” recognition in 2022. Dr. Weeks says that this recognition has inspired him and his community to seek ways to improve their practices, by asking “How can we be better?” every day. Dr. Weeks faithfully serves his church, First Baptist Church Greenbriar, as Sunday School teacher, Deacon, and the church organist. In his free time, he enjoys watching and attending all things University of Tennessee football with his family and friends.
TOSS Executive Director, Dr. Dale Lynch stated, “I want to congratulate all this year’s Regional Superintendents of the Year. A special congratulations goes to Dr. Danny Weeks for being selected as the 2023 Tennessee Superintendent of the Year. Dr. Weeks is an extraordinary leader and constantly goes above and beyond to serve his students and community. I am honored to have the opportunity to work with him and have no doubt that he will be an excellent representative of Tennessee in the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) National Superintendent of the Year Program.”
Dr. Weeks will represent the state of Tennessee at the 2023 AASA National Conference on Education, which will be held in San Antonio, Texas this February.
TOSS also presented the George "Kip" Reel Award for Leadership in Education to Ms. Susie Benefield of TOSS and the Friend of TOSS Award to Dr. Sara Morrison, Executive Director of the Tennessee State Board of Education.
