Starkville Oktibbeha School District Superintendent, Dr. Eddie Peasant, was selected by Mississippi State University as its 2018 Outstanding Administrator awarded by the Mississippi Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (MACTE). MSU Dean of Education, Dr. Richard Blackbourn, recognized Peasant for his leadership during the MACTE Excellence in Education Awards Program on Monday.
Peasant is a veteran educator with almost 20 years of administrative experience. His successes and experiences at the secondary level uniquely qualified him for the District's top position as it began construction on a new sixth and seventh grade Partnership School. The innovative school combines the resources of SOCSD and MSU and promises to reimagine middle school and teacher training in Mississippi and beyond.
Earlier this year, Peasant was tapped by the Mississippi Department of Education to serve on its Middle School Task Force and its Student Testing Task Force. Peasant also serves on the Board of Directors for Mississippi Association of School Administrators (MASA) and Program of Research and Evaluation for Public Schools (PREPS).
Peasant recently completed the Aspiring and Early Career Leaders Academy, a professional development initiative offered through AASA, The School Superintendents Association and the MASA to bolster school district leadership.
A former Mississippi Administrator of the Year, Peasant has previously served as assistant superintendent of the Tupelo School District and and principal of Clinton High School and Gulfport Middle School.