Missouri Superintendent Chris Gaines Named AASA President
For
Immediate Release
Contact:
James Minichello
703-875-0723
703-774-6953 (cell)
jminichello@aasa.org
Alexandria, Va. –
(July 11, 2018) – Chris Gaines, superintendent
of the Mehlville School District in
St. Louis, Mo., was sworn in today as the 2018-19 president of AASA, The School Superintendents Association.
“It has been a professional honor working with some of the
best superintendents in the country through my work at AASA,” said Gaines. “The
key components woven into AASA’s mission include advocacy, equity and
leadership development. During my tenure as AASA president, I will work
diligently to strengthen those components, which can only empower our
superintendents as they work to increase student learning outcomes for the
students they serve. I am proud to be a superintendent at the Mehlville School
District and equally as proud to be part of AASA.”
A member of AASA’s inaugural
2017 Personalized Learning
Cohort and Certification program, Gaines is also an active member of AASA’s
Digital Consortium.
His district hosted the consortium's 2018 spring meeting. "When (our members)
are engaging together, they’re able to learn together and when they go home,
they can lead their districts toward a brighter future for their students," he said
at the meeting.
(See the video: “AASA Digital Consortium
Spring 2018”)
Gaines has been a member of
AASA’s governing structure since 2008 and has served on the organization’s
executive committee since 2014. He has also been a member of the Missouri
Association of School Administrators since 2001.
"I often
refer to superintendents as ‘champions for children.’ For what he has accomplished
throughout his career, Chris Gaines is a ‘champion’s champion’ and I
congratulate him as our new president,” said Daniel A. Domenech, executive
director, AASA. “Chris works to escalate and promote such cutting-edge tools on
behalf of students as personalized and digital learning. He has been nothing
short of outstanding. I look forward to working with him in his new role."
Gaines began his tenure as superintendent of the Mehlville School District in 2015. Prior to
that, he served as superintendent of the Wright City R-II School District, in
Wright City, Mo., beginning in 2008. During the previous seven years, he served
as superintendent of Crawford County R-1 School District, in Bourbon, Mo.
Deborah L. Kerr, superintendent of the
School District of Brown Deer in
Brown Deer, Wis., was also sworn in today as AASA president-elect. The
installation ceremony was held in conjunction with AASA’s Legislative Advocacy
Conference in Washington, D.C.
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About AASA
AASA, The School
Superintendents Association, founded in 1865, is the professional
organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and
throughout the world. AASA’s mission is to support and develop effective school
system leaders who are dedicated to the highest quality public education for
all children. For more information, visit www.aasa.org.