Michael D. Murphy, 50, is looking toward the future.
As the new superintendent of the Fountain Lake School District, Murphy is a proponent of 21st-century education, which, he said, includes embracing technology and “getting our students college — and career — ready for employment.”
“The work we do [as educators] is hard,” he said. “We have to help students fulfill their potential, … help kids become the best they can be, regardless of their circumstances. We need parents, and the community, to support us. We have high expectations for our students; we want them to become lifelong learners.”
Murphy was hired by the Fountain Lake School Board in March and officially began his job as district superintendent July 1. A native of Missouri, he served school districts in his home state for many years, including 12 years as superintendent of the St. Claire R-XIII School District in Franklin County, Missouri.
During the interview process, Murphy told the school board members, “I can assure you I will build on your current tradition and practice and use my experience to build Fountain Lake into a ‘destination for education.’
“My 21 years of administrative experience and 12 years serving as a superintendent will be an asset to your organization, guiding you through the challenge of growth into the digital age and adequate funding your schools,” he told the board.
Murphy was born in Independence, Missouri, but lived there for only a short time.
“We left there when I was 6 months old,” he said. “My parents had moved to Independence so my dad could go to barber school. I grew up in Mountain Grove, Missouri.”
Murphy said his grandfather had been superintendent for Ozark County Schools in Missouri (kindergarten through the eighth grade), and his grandmother had been a teacher.
“I stepped back into education,” he said, as he began to tell visitors about his path to becoming a teacher.
Murphy graduated from Mountain Grove High School in 1983 and enrolled in the School of the Ozarks, now known as College of the Ozarks at Point Lookout, Missouri. The college is often referred to as “Hard Work U,” where students work campus jobs to help pay for their education.
“I was assigned a job in maintenance and plumbing. I grew up playing baseball. I walked onto the team that fall and played on the team all four years, serving as captain for one year,” he said.
“It was a really rigid school. You had to take on workforce responsibilities and decisions and still deliver academically. There were set rules and parameters to see how you would react. You had to attend chapel and convocations. It was really rigid,” Murphy said.
“There was a one-way ticket out if you did not comply. I had to make a decision to conform to the rules or not,” he said.
“It was a test of perseverance. You had to co-mingle extracurricular activities. … You had to think about how to manage your time,” Murphy said.
“It helped me learn how to handle challenges in life,” he said. “It was very challenging.
“I spent four years in that mix and graduated in 1988 with a degree in physical education.”
Murphy said he had Missouri teaching certificates in physical education for grades seven through 12 and mathematics for grades seven through nine but could not find a job teaching PE.
“The PE field was saturated,” he said, “but with my certificate in math, I had multiple employment opportunities.”
His first teaching job was in the Blue Eye School District, which is on the Arkansas/Missouri state line.
“I taught there for one year,” he said. “I enjoyed that year. I had an opportunity to impact students.”
Murphy said he wanted to excel as a coach and found a job in Ava, Missouri, where he taught and coached for three years.
“I started out teaching math, and by the third year, I was head coach of the varsity baseball team,” he said.
Murphy continued his education while he was teaching at Ava and received a master’s degree in educational administration from Southwest Missouri State University in 1992.
In 1995, he returned to his hometown in Mountain Grove as assistant high school principal. He served three years as assistant principal and was promoted to high school principal.
After six years at Mountain Grove, Murphy accepted the high school principal’s job at St. Claire in 2001. He also began the doctoral educational leadership program at St. Louis University. In 2002, he became assistant superintendent of the St. Claire School District. And in 2003, he was appointed superintendent of schools in St. Claire. He also earned his specialist degree in educational leadership in 2003. Murphy received his doctorate in educational leadership in 2008.
“I learned a long time ago if you surround yourself with great people, you can learn from them,” he said. “That’s what I have done everywhere I have been and hope to do that here at Fountain Lake. You can run a well-oiled machine if you are surrounded with great people.”
Murphy said he not only hopes to inspire the students at Fountain Lake, but he hopes to inspire the community.
“I want to build a trust between the community and the schools,” he said. “I want to develop a community plan … to be transparent to the public.
“I want to develop a Facebook page, a Twitter page. I want to try to embellish social media. We have such a diverse audience in our school district, … from the Gen Xers to the baby boomers.”
Murphy and his wife, Ginger, have three children — Evan, 21, who is a machinist; Miranda, 19, who is a sophomore at College of the Ozarks; and Joe, 15, who is a sophomore at Fountain Lake High School. When he has any spare time, Murphy said, he enjoys hunting, fishing and boating.