Deanna Boyd

Deanna Sutton Boyd, a long-time educator and administrator in the Kennett Public Schools, died Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008, at Capital Regional Medical Center in Jefferson City, Mo. She was born July 28, 1950, in Kennett.

Mrs. Boyd was named principal at South Elementary in Eldon, Mo. in 1999 and retired from the post in 2007. During her time at South, the school was recognized as an outstanding Missouri school. She was named recipient of the Outstanding Service Award to Missouri Accelerated Schools and Professional Learning Communities Project in 2006.

She implemented the School Portfolio Process and the Professional Learning Communities Model at Eldon South. Under her leadership, Eldon South was named a state and national PLC Model School.

She is survived by her husband of 36 years, Bruce Boyd, of Osage Beach, Mo., and many other family members, including: her parents, Wesley and Reva Sutton, of Kennett; mother-in-law, June Monahan, of Kennett; her son, Chad (Leann) Boyd, of Springfield, Mo.; her daughter, Lisa (John) Jordan, of Columbia, Mo.; grandchildren, Kaelyn Boyd, Drake Jordan, and Haley Jordan; brother and sister-in-law, Tommy and Mary Sutton, of Kennett; sister and brother-in-law, Debbie and Keith Parker, of Chattanooga, Tenn.; brother-in-law, Bill Boyd, of Kennett; and many nephews, nieces, and great nephews and nieces. She was preceded in death by brother-in-law, Alan Boyd.

She was a long-time member of First Baptist Church in Kennett.

Mrs. Boyd earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Missouri, Columbia; a Master's in Education in School Administration from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro; and an Educational Specialist degree from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

She began her teaching career in special education in the Collier County Public Schools in Naples, Florida, before returning to Missouri in 1974. She served as a teacher to students with learning disabilities at South Elementary in Kennett until 1977 and as a teacher to educable mentally handicapped students at Westside Elementary School in Caruthersville Public Schools until 1981.

In 1981, Mrs. Boyd returned to Kennett Public Schools as a teacher for students with learning disabilities and Director of Secondary Curriculum. From 1993 until 1999, she served as Director of Parents at Teachers, a Title II Coordinator, and Elementary Director for K-5 with Kennett Public Schools. She also previously served as principal at the West Kindergarten and Early Childhood Program.

Throughout her career, Mrs. Boyd held many positions of leadership and service. She served as a mentor for Missouri's Administrative Mentoring Program and was a member of the Missouri Retired Teachers Association. She was a past president of the Kennett Community Teacher Association and a member of the Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals and Eldon Community Teacher Association.

Mrs. Boyd was dedicated to improving education through innovation and training. She served on School Improvement Planning Teams and review teams through Missouri and chaired the Instruction Team for Eldon-R1 and the Curriculum and Instruction Team for Kennett Public Schools.

Her leadership training and participation included the Missouri Leadership Academy, Ventures in Excellence, Situational Leadership Level I and II, IBM Leadership Training for School Administrators, the Technology Leadership Academy, the Art of School Leadership, and the Readership Academy for Principals.

She was a facilitator for the Stephen Covey "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" Workshops and participated in the Public Education and Business Coalition's National Spring Study on Readers and Writers. She led grant projects for two state reading programs to balance literacy at elementary schools and to implement a comprehensive reading and phonics reform program through the Developmental Studies Center.

Mrs. Boyd implemented a Parents Organization Program for Kennett Public Schools and was a former member of the Eldon Elementary Parent Teacher Association. She implemented the Behavior Intervention Support Team program in elementary schools and was an action team facilitator for district committees on Improving School Climate and Establishing Collaborative Plan Time.

Among her professional presentations were "Collaboration: A Journey to Success" along with the South School Leadership Team at the 2007 Powerful Learning Conference and "Focus on Learning for All: A Triad of Collaboration, Assessment, and Intervention" to the Cooper County Special Education Cooperative.

Visitation will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8, at McDaniel Chapel at Kennett. Graveside services will follow at 3 p.m. at Memorial Gardens Cemetery of Kennett. Ben Jordan will officiate and pall bearers will be Mrs. Boyd's nephews: Jeff Sutton, Jarrad Sutton, Michael Chandler, Todd Nelson, and great nephews: Jordon Nelson and Wes Sutton.

Memorial contributions may be made to First Baptist Church, Kennett, Mo., Building Fund or the Eldon South Elementary Special Needs funds in Eldon, Missouri. Paid obituary