CABOT — The 2015 Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators Superintendent of the Year said his recent award is more a reflection of the Cabot School District than of himself.
Tony Thurman has been superintendent of the Cabot School District for eight years, and as this year’s state Superintendent of the Year, he is now in the running for the title of National Superintendent of the Year through the American Association of School Administrators.
“I take this as a very nice personal accolade, but it’s really and truly a reflection on the school district,” Thurman said. “If the district’s not doing well, I would not even be considered for this honor. It shows me that we’re doing good things for kids, and that’s what’s most important.”
Candidates for the National Superintendent of the Year are judged on leadership for learning, communication, professionalism and community involvement. The national recognition will be announced in February at the American Association of School Administrators’ national conference.
Thurman said he has a background many superintendents may not have. Before rising to the top of the Cabot School District, Thurman served as principal in all levels of primary education, including for an elementary school in McGehee, and for the middle and high schools in Cabot.
“Typically, when [an administrator] moves up to be a superintendent, they have been an administrator in either an elementary or secondary school,” he said. “I’ve worked with every age group; therefore, I know the unique challenges that each of those brings to school and to administration.”
Thurman was also recently named Administrator of the Year by the Arkansas Communication and Theater Arts Administration, the organization that governs fine-arts teachers in the state.
“Our district has really moved forward in focusing on fine arts,” Thurman said. “That includes debate and forensics and theater and stagecraft. I would concur that we’ve really invested in specialized facilities and staff to meet the needs of the kids who are wanting to be involved in those programs.”
Examples of this can be seen throughout the district. The Cabot Freshman Academy has given ninth-graders more room for fine arts, and Thurman said the expanded facilities have allowed the school to give the forensics and debate groups adequate room for their activities. At the high school this year, the theater department will perform Peter Pan, and Thurman said he gave approval for the school to bring in the equipment to make the title character fly on stage.
Offering a variety of fine-arts opportunities is important for schools, Thurman said, and having places for students to plug in outside of core subjects helps in other areas of student performance.
“Fine arts are just as important as our career technical areas and our athletic programs,” he said. “Over and over, researchers show you that students who come to school and have some connection other than math, science, English and social studies are just typically going to do better. They’re going to be better behaved, attendance is going to be better, and academically, they’re going to be better. … In reality, school needs to be about more than just those core subjects.”
The Cabot School District is the seventh largest in the state, with 10,225 students and more than 1,300 employees. Both of the recent awards, Thurman said, prove that the district is doing good work.
“The key to my job is that we have good people in key spots, and they just do a good job,” Thurman said. “What I’ve always tried to get across is that we all need to be pulling in the same direction. We’ll always have challenges, but overall, I think we’re doing our best to pull together to one goal, which is doing the best for kids.”
Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansasonline.com.