Daviess County Public Schools Superintendent Owens Saylor will be the guest of honor at a retirement reception from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 22, at the DCPS Central Office, 1622 Southeastern Parkway. The reception is open to the public and everyone is invited to attend and share words of appreciation to Supt. Saylor for his many contributions to our district during his years of service. Light refreshments will be served.
Saylor joined DCPS as superintendent on July 1, 2012, and is retiring June 30, 2017, after a 37-year career in education. He was named Superintendent of the Year in 2016 by the Kentucky Association of School Administrators.
“Over these past five years, I’ve been blessed to witness incredible growth at our schools and wonderful achievements by our students and I’ve developed many professional and personal friendships that I will cherish forever,” Saylor said. “I have learned so much by being in our schools and classrooms, in gyms, stadiums and concert halls, riding buses, serving kids in the lunch line, and by watching students demonstrate their abilities in amazing ways. After 37 years of experience in this profession, I can say with authority that Daviess County Public Schools provides the absolute best educational experience for students with the state’s best teachers, leaders, and staff wrapping their arms around children with love, support, and guidance. It has simply been the professional honor of my lifetime to serve the students and families of Daviess County Public Schools.”
Under his leadership, the Daviess County Public Schools district has been named a Distinguished district by the Kentucky Department of Education for four consecutive years (2013-16), and students and staff members have earned exemplary honors at the state and national levels. Recent highlights have included the district’s being named to the College Board’s AP District Honor Roll and earning the Alliance for a Healthier Generation Bronze Award; all DCPS preschools earning Five-Star ratings for quality early childhood care and education; state championships in the Lt. Governor’s Entrepreneurial Challenge and Student Technology Leadership Program; and a national academic team championship.
Saylor brought to Daviess County a commitment to core values and guiding principles for student achievement, teacher quality and customer service. He energized the DCPS community with his vision of “Great Expectations” for ALL students, with a goal of ensuring that graduates leave high school with the capacity to complete a college degree and/or obtain and hold a family-sustainable career. All DCPS schools were named Proficient or Distinguished in 2016. The number of students graduating from DCPS reaching college/career readiness benchmarks grew from 43.6 percent in 2012 to 73 percent in 2016.
In addition to guiding the DCPS district to outstanding academic achievements, Saylor implemented an innovative “Growing Minds, Growing Hearts” campaign designed to nurture an awareness of the importance of service to others and making a positive contribution to our community. In August 2016, Saylor challenged every DCPS student and staff member to participate in at least one service project during the school year. A FEW examples documenting ways our schools, students and staff members rose to the challenge are posted here – a tribute to one of Owens Saylor’s most meaningful legacies.
Saylor will continue his commitment of service to education as Director of Program Development for the Kentucky Association of School Administrators and The Center for Education Leadership located in Frankfort, Kentucky, effective Aug. 15.
Before joining Daviess County Public Schools, Saylor served as deputy superintendent (2008-12), assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction (2004-08), principal (2000-04) and assistant principal (1997-2000) in the Jessamine County Public Schools district. He joined Jessamine County in 1989 as director of the Jessamine County High School band and was named the district’s Teacher of the Year in 1995. Saylor began his education career as the band director at Palatka (Fla.) High School (1980-82). He was named band director at Largo (Fla.) High School (1982-89).
Saylor has a bachelor’s degree in music education, master of music performance, administrative leadership certification and Rank I from the University of Kentucky, where he was also the graduate assistant director of the UK Wildcat Marching Band (1979). His professional memberships have included the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents and service on the American Association of School Administrators Governing Board and the Kentucky Association of School Administrators Board of Directors.
He and his wife Sara Gresham Saylor have three daughters.
