Previous Rockwood Director to be Honored

Art McCoy II, former executive director of student services in the , will be honored Sept. 16 at the St. Louis American Foundation’s 2011 Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship & Awards Gala to be held at the America’s Center. He also is a former graduate where he was involved in the Wildwood-based school community.

In a St. Louis American article, the staff announced McCoy was one of eight educators chosen for this year's gala honorees.

McCoy told Patch he is "delighted, honored and hopes to exhibit the excellence" that all of the Rockwood-related opportunities gave him to create many successes in a short period of time.

McCoy is just a few months into his new job as school superintendent at the Ferguson-Florissant School District, where he most recently served as assistant superintendent, according to the article. The district encompasses approximately 12,000 students in North County St. Louis.

Prior to McCoy's position within Rockwood, he served as director of the gifted program in Pattonville Schools, and a middle school administrator and principal in the St. Charles School District. He started off as the state’s youngest certified teacher at age 19, stated St. Louis American.

Among McCoy's highlighted attributes for the award is that he is an adjunct university professor, book author and founder of the SAGES Organization, which focuses on eliminating educational achievement gaps. He also is a member of the National Superintendent’s Roundtable, Urban Superintendents of America Association and University of Missouri St. Louis Education Leadership Council.

McCoy said in the St. Louis American interview, “I’ve been blessed to be able to combine hard work with opportunity and a passion to not be afraid to take risks, to stand up for what’s right and what’s most affecting communities that are impoverished or underserved.”

While working within Rockwood, McCoy said he increased the budget for his portion of district responsibilities from $200,000 to $2.2 million, primarily through securing grants and donations from donors. He cited Goodwill Industries International, and United Way as some of the contributors. He told Patch a total of $650,000 of the funds came from a Drug Free Schools grant.

He said he used the money to create the following type of new endeavors for Rockwood students:  mentor programs, ACT preparation, securing social workers, providing transportation, and offering enrichment programs, such as going to the St. Louis Science Center and Botanical Gardens. He also partnered with the to establish better programs for at-risk, transitioning students.

"I focused on the four Ps:  programs, publications, problem solving and public relations," said McCoy. While doing so, he became to be regarded as an expert on closing the gap on student achievement initiatives.

"My time at Rockwood gave me a sense of family, and demonstrated what it's like to have purposes geared around making it happen for youths," he said.

"The world needs as many people focused on providing spirit of excellence models as we can get."