Delta school district gets new superintendent

The Delta School District is saying goodbye to one superintendent and hello to another.

Nate Crowden, who served in the role for 10 years, is passing the baton to Mellissa Heath, principal of East Prairie (Missouri) Elementary School.

Crowden, who lives in Jackson, said he wants to spend more time with family and will be open to opportunities in other fields.

“It’s kind of like other things — (it was) just time,” he said.

Crowden, who has worked in the district for 23 years, said he was proud of ushering in a new elementary school building in 2010 and having outstanding school district performance scores for several years through the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Nate Crowden

Last year’s score was 96.7 percent, with anything more than 90 being considered significant, he said.

Heath, who spent 13 years as principal of East Prairie Elementary, will begin her new position July 1. She has a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in educational administration from Southeast Missouri State University. Her doctoral degree in administration is from St. Louis University.

She said her goal is to build a culture in which everyone has an equal stake in student success.

“My whole vision is to create a culture of leaders,” she said.

It’s something Heath has worked on in years past, using models such as PassageWorks and Franklin Covey’s “The Leader in Me.”

The idea is to include teachers, parents and other stakeholders in decision-making processes, especially where students are concerned.

“Then it becomes a team effort, and everyone wants to meet those goals we created together,” she said.

Although she has not begun her position yet, Heath said she already has teachers helping select a new principal to replace Crowden, who served as Delta Elementary’s principal as well as being superintendent, along with two new teachers.

Once she takes the reins, Heath said she plans to get stakeholders more involved in the daily workings of the school district, which has an enrollment of 270 students.

ljones@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3652

Pertinent address: 324 N. Liberty St., Delta, Mo.