Stansberry stood for leadership

Stansberry stood for leadership

Do we really need to ask ourselves why Lee's Summit is never held accountable by DESE?  The person, at DESE, that is responsible for holding them accountable has a building named after himself.

Stansberry stood for leadership

BY RUSS PULLEY

rpulley@lsjournal.com


Former school and city leaders get their names slapped on roads and buildings.
But when the Lee’s Summit R-7 School Board named the district’s central office building on Tudor Road it made a very specific choice to note what it’s namesake meant to this community.
The Tony L. Stansberry Leadership Center at 301 NE Tudor Road is named after the superintendent of schools serving from 1996 to 2006.
Patti Buie and Jack Wiley, two school board members who worked with Stansberry, said calling the administration building a leadership center wasn’t just symbolic.
It was picked because it evokes the mark Stansberry left on the district. A focus of his administration was developing leadership at all levels and for continuous improvement.
“He modeled that and expected it of his staff,” Buie said.
“I was really impressed with his gentle leadership,” Buie said. “He believed in a collaborative process... making certain people who are going to be affected by a decision have a voice in that decision.”
Stansberry’s career included being school superintendent in Grandview, Colorado Springs, Co. and the Basehor-Linwood District in Kansas. He also is a retired U.S. Army brigadier general serving 32 years in the military.
Lee’s Summit schools had exceptional enrollment growth during those years and losses in state funding.
During his administration voters approved five bond issues to build eight schools: Cedar Creek, Hawthorn Hill, Highland Park, Longview Farm, and Woodland elementary schools, Summit Lakes Middle School, Lee’s Summit West High School, Summit Ridge Academy and, Summit Technology Academy and Great Beginnings Early Education Center.
He used partnerships with local developer David Gale to help finance Longview Farm Elementary and with local businesses for construction or facility costs for Summit Technology Academy and the R-7 Transportation Center and raised charitable donations for the early childhood center, saving the district close to $10 million for the four facilities.
He also oversaw major additions to existing schools.
Voters also passed two levy increases to offset state revenue loss.
Wiley said Stansberry is a people-oriented person and very affable.
Stansberry was always able to find the positive in a situation, Wiley said.
“He’d shave away and find the diamond in the middle of it,” he said.
Wiley said he thought Stansberry’s influence continued on the district, with the superintendent, school board and others working as a team with mutual respect.
Wiley said the district strives to follow one of Stansberry’s tenants: “Tough on issues but soft on people.”
Wiley said Stansberry was a great family man, always talking about his grandchildren.
After retiring Stansberry moved out of Lee’s Summit to be closer to those children. But he kept his ties to education.
He’s working for Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and occasionally crosses paths with old Lee’s Summit friends, Wiley said.
Stansberry is a people-oriented person and very affable, he said, and humble when the district chose the name.
“He was very surprised, very honored when we made that announcement, he was just floored,” Wiley said.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Missouri Schools - The Washington Post

Missouri Schools - The Washington Post Some schools brag about their high passing rates on AP or IB, meaning the percentage of test-takers who scored 3, 4 or 5 on the 5-point AP exam or 4, 5, 6 or 7 on the 7-point IB exam. Passing scores make students eligible for credit at many colleges and universities. I decided not to count passing rates in this way because I found that many high schools kept those rates artificially high by allowing only top students to take the courses. AP, IB and AICE are important because they give average students a chance to experience the trauma of heavy college reading lists and long, analytical college examinations. Research has found that even low-performing students who got a 2 on an AP test did significantly better in college than similar students who did not take AP. On the list, we also give readers a sense of how well each school’s students are doing on the tests by posting the Equity and Excellence rate, which is the percentage of all graduating s...
Read more

My Letter Requesting To Become A Board Member

Sherri R. Tucker 1200 SE London Way Lee’s Summit, MO   64081 816-554-3017 autism@kc.rr.com Lee’s Summit R-7 School District C/o Linda Ismert, Board Secretary Stansberry Leadership Center 301 NE Tudor Road Lee’s Summit, MO   64086 Ms Ismert I would like to submit my name for the position on the Lee’s Summit R-7 School Board.   As you know, I have expressed an interest in being on the school board in the past.   On my first attempt I only lost by 2% which would indicate that the voters have an interest in me being on the board as well.   I would think that the voters’ wishes would be taken into consideration. I have a strong relationship with many of the districts’ families and I can help to bridge the gap between them and the district.   I understand the commitment to the time and energy required each week for meetings, phone calls, conversations, visits to schools, and professional development seminars and workshops.   I already do that with the f...
Read more

School Board Candidates

I am attempting to find information on the school board candidates.  It has been much easier in the past.  This year it has been more difficult.  Susan D. Coffman Susan Coffman has served as the Outreach Program Coordinator and Finance Officer for Lee’s Summit CARES since 2008. She has been a mayor-appointed representative to the Human Services Advisory Board, facilitated alcohol retailer trainings, organized the annual Holly Festival with the DARE program, managed bookkeeping and accounting, and served as the community liaison between LS CARES and local business, universities and the cities.  Coffman’s financial background includes work as a customer support specialist at Jack Henry & Associates Inc. for 11 years and assistant vice president and customer support specialist at Merchants Bank for 17 years.  Her community activities include serving on the Human Services Advisory Board, Paradise Park Advisory Board, Lee’s Summit Social Services Board, form...
Read more