Springfield schools leader accepts position at Greenwood

Duncan accepted the position of acting director at Greenwood Laboratory School, where she begins Sept. 1. She worked with Springfield Public Schools for 20 years.

Her work with Springfield schools has prepared her for Greenwood, she said. Both positions require her to be forward-thinking and analytical.

“That’s my expertise – fact-finding, analysis and creative thinking about the directions to go in the future,” she said. “Being able to predict what some changes might result in and what needs to happen will serve me well.”

Greenwood is a department of Southwest Missouri State University and is located on the school’s campus. Education students from the university are trained at Greenwood.

Duncan grew up in Springfield and graduated from SMSU. She received her doctorate at University of Missouri-Columbia and went on to teach high school and college in St. Louis, Indiana and Colorado.

Duncan began with the Springfield district as director of special education and support services and oversaw programs including Title I, early childhood development and counseling. She became assistant superintendent in 1997 and entered her current position in 2003.

Robert Keyes, public information officer for Springfield Public Schools, said Duncan’s departure is more than just a job change.

“She really has such a strong and deep grasp of not only where we are, but where we’ve come from,” he said. “It’s a tremendous loss of institutional knowledge for the district.”