Kleinsmith Receives Pearce Award
Dr. Stephen Kleinsmith has been selected by the Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA) as the recipient of the annual Robert L. Pearce Award for 2010. Kleinsmith was selected by a committee of his peers. Seven MASA districts nominated a superintendent for the award.
The Pearce award includes a $500 cash award to the recipient and a $500 scholarship for a student in the district of the award winner.
Kleinsmith has been employed by the Nixa R-II School District as Superintendent of Schools since July, 2000. Previously, he served as Executive Director of Administrative Affairs at Millard Public Schools near Omaha, Nebraska.
Kleinsmith received his Bachelor's degree from Wayne State College and his Masters of Science in Education and Specialist in Education from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He received his Doctorate in Education from the University of South Dakota.
Under Kleinsmith's leadership, the school district has operated under the basic belief that "our students want to learn" and it is the job of educators to meet their needs regardless of challenges or obstacles presented. It is through this belief, working as a team at all times, that continued student achievement prevails in the Nixa School District. The District has received the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's "Distinction in Performance" for eight years in a row and all grade levels score well above the state average on state assessments.
Kleinsmith has been an active member of MASA serving on the Legislative Committee since 2006. He is the current Chairman of the Ozark Educational Research Institute. Kleinsmith has had numerous articles published in local newspapers. He is active in the Nixa Chamber of Commerce, the United Way of the Ozarks, the Nixa Community Foundation, and many other civic groups.
Kleinsmith is the twenty-fourth recipient of the prestigious Robert L. Pearce Award.
