When Stanley Stratton was earning his bachelor’s degree at Northeast Missouri State University, he worked as a residence-hall director. He said working in that role made a lasting impact on him and showed him how much change one person could make while overseeing a whole building of students rather than one classroom.
“At the residence hall, I got to affect the whole building, and that’s what led me into administration,” Stratton said. “My first administrative job was as a high school principal.”
Stratton, who has 31 years of education experience, was hired earlier this year as the new superintendent for the Riverview School District. Former Riverview School District Superintendent David Rutledge resigned in August of last year.
Stratton will start in his new role July 1. He is finishing up the current school year at the Dunklin R-5 School District, near Herculaneum, Missouri, and plans to make the transition to Arkansas in June.
“I had enough time to retire, but I still wanted to work, and we were looking at other states to move to, and Arkansas was one that we were interested in,” Stratton said. “Our oldest son, [Tyler], had just finished college at Ouachita Baptist College in Arkadelphia.”
Stratton said that when he and his family would drive to visit Tyler, they would pass Riverview, which can be seen from U.S. 67/167, and he said one of the things that attracted him to the position was the district’s facilities.
“I was able to visit the district during my interview, and I had been back a couple of times before school was closed, and everybody that we have met has been friendly and welcoming,” Stratton said.
“I felt a sense of community and pride, and the people have just been outstanding,” he said. “The dedication to the district and wanting to see the students grow and achieve are things I have seen about Riverview, and the focus on the students.”
Stratton is originally from the Kansas City, Missouri, area and graduated from Plattsburg (Missouri) High School in 1983 and earned a bachelor’s degree from Northeast Missouri State University, now Truman State University, in Kirksville in 1987. He earned a master’s degree from Kansas State University in Manhattan in 1993 and holds a specialist degree from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. He has been superintendent of the Dunklin R-5 School District since 2007.
“I just really love working with students,” Stratton said. “I have been a middle school and high school science teacher, and I have also coached basketball, mostly girls basketball.
“I love being around kids and working with kids. I worked at summer camps while I was working on my bachelor’s degree, and I just really enjoyed it.”
He said sports has always been a big part of his life. During high school, he played basketball and golf, and he had a few people ask him to teach them to play golf. He said the interaction he got with that led him into teaching.
“I coached some girls Little League Softball as a high school senior, and I helped assist them,” Stratton said. “I found that interaction very rewarding, seeing the kids improve and get better. I just really enjoyed it.”
Clint Johnston, superintendent of the Jefferson R-VII School District in Missouri, has known Stratton for 10 years and said Stratton is very calm, very cerebral and intelligent. Johnston said Stratton is a kid-first person and is trying to do things to help young men and women have a better life.
“Stan is an approachable person, and I think he will do well at Riverview,” Johnston said. “He is sharp when it comes to leadership.
“I don’t know much about the school district, but I have played a lot of baseball in the area and state, and from what I know, it is full of people wanting to do the right thing with the same kid-first mentality. Stanley is going to make the decisions needed, and he is not afraid to make the tough decisions.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Stratton said, his district shifted to a teaching and learning model for a virtual learning experience. He said one of the things he has been passionate about is making sure the kids are fed during this time.
“We have been delivering meals throughout this whole time, and we are making sure our students have the resources needed, whether it is educational resources, food or other needs,” Stratton said.
He said that even though he is still learning about the Riverview School District, a goal of his is to see the district to continue to grow and improve.
“Every day, we should be getting better, and there are a couple of buildings with reports that could be a little higher, and we want to improve those student goals and student achievement,” Stratton said.
A few years ago at the Dunklin R-5 School District, Stratton said, the district started using the Baldridge Criteria for Performance Excellence, and for the past two years, the district has been awarded the Missouri and Kansas Quality Award.
“Having that continuous model in place, the district has really bought into it, and the school board has really bought into it, and it will last even after I leave,” Stratton said. “But I am leaving the district better than I found it, and my goal [for Riverview] is to find the district in one place and take it to another place and for it to be better than it was when I found it.”
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.