Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Grenita Lathan’s contract has been extended for another year, through the 2028-2029 school year.
It’s the fifth contract extension during her tenure and follows an annual evaluation by the SPS School Board.
SPS Board President Judy Brunner said in a statement that the board "continues to be very pleased with Dr. Lathan’s leadership and steadfast commitment to serving all students."
She said the board noted what it called significant improvements in academic achievement across all school groups.
Last November, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released its 2024-2025 Annual Performance Report. It showed that SPS has improved overall performance as a district and saw growth in the percentage of students scoring advanced and proficient in all subjects.
The board stated that "SPS continues to celebrate improvement in academic proficiency, graduation rate, and attendance. Student attendance increased for the third consecutive year with students achieving an annual attendance rate of 92.12 percent in 2025. SPS achieved a graduation rate of 99 percent in 2025 - another record year.
English Language Arts scores increased by 1.9 percent, Mathematics increased by 3.3 percent, Science increased by 4.2 percent and Social Studies increased by 3.1 percent.
Performance on MAP and End-of-Course assessments by high school students documented an increase in those scoring proficient and advanced in all subjects, including a 12.8 percent improvement in Algebra 1."
The board also cited relationships with community stakeholders and implementation of districtwide systems in its decision to extend Lathan’s contract.
Specifically, it cited:
- "The redesign of leader and classified employee evaluation processes has aligned standards, procedures and tools to increase clarity and promote growth."
- "New training for paraprofessionals focused on consistent, proactive behavioral practices, including deescalation and intervention."
- "The annual review of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) framework included campus walkthroughs to evaluate tiered-fidelity implementation, providing actionable feedback to schools and promoting alignment between expectations and practice."
- "Continued alignment of a guaranteed, viable curriculum with Missouri Learning Standards and the use of a universal screener tool to track student academic progress and guide interventions were noted."
- "The development of the 2025-2026 budget to support academic and operational needs, while also prioritizing improved employee compensation and benefits was also highlighted."
Lathan has been SPS superintendent since July 2021.
