May 30, 2024
By: Dwayne Page
Director of Schools Patrick Cripps has been named the 2024-25 Tennessee Upper Cumberland Regional Superintendent of the Year awarded by the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS).
TOSS is a membership association for Tennessee’s school superintendents and directors of schools. TOSS provides high quality professional learning, legislative advocacy and many other services.
An overall State Superintendent or Director of the Year is selected by TOSS each year along with eight regional winners. Cripps is this year’s winner for the Upper Cumberland Region.
Cripps said he is honored to have received this award.
“It is an honor to be recognized by your peers. I have to give all the praise and glory to God. He has allowed me to be in this position going on 10 years next year. I definitely could not do the job without Him being with me daily. I also want to thank our faculty, employees, central office staff, and administrators. This is really their award. I have been blessed to be up here. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would be in this position. I think about my late mom and dad, Brenda and Gene Cripps. I wish they could have seen this. I also think of Mr. Ernest Ray (retired educator and former Superintendent of Schools). He has been a mentor. He still calls me and I ask him about things. So thinking about them makes me a bit emotional,” said Director Cripps.
Director Cripps said he is also thankful for the support of his wife Jamie. Cripps has three children, Callie, Zoe, and Brody Cripps, and stepchildren Seth and his wife Elizabeth Wright and Cole Wright along with grandson Rhett Wright.
Cripps received a BS degree from Tennessee Tech University in the fall of 1995 with a major in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. In the fall of 1999, Cripps earned an MA in Educational Psychology and Counselor Education. During the summer of 2004, Cripps received his Ed.S degree in Instructional Leadership at Tennessee Tech.
Director Cripps spoke of how his career path has brought him to this moment.
“I graduated from Tech with a psychology degree and then went to MTSU to work on my master’s in industrial organizational psychology. After I got over there, I found I really didn’t enjoy that. I have always liked working with kids. I was involved in baseball camps and things of that nature. In the meantime, I got the opportunity to go to a program in Cookeville called Endeavors and I worked at a drug and alcohol rehab center for teenagers. I did that for about a year before Mr. Jim McCormick (former Director of Schools) called and offered me a position back in the county doing similar counselor work with kids in the school system, not necessarily kids already using drugs but preventive measures. From there I went to the high school and was guidance counselor for five years. When Kathy Hendrix became principal, she asked me to join the administration as assistant principal. I thought about it and then took classes and got the job. I was assistant principal for seven years and she (Ms. Hendrix) taught me a lot. After she left Mr. Mark Willoughby (former Director of Schools) hired me as principal at the high school. I appreciate him having faith in me to be able to do that. When he (Willoughby) retired I applied for and got the director of schools’ position. That was in 2015. Its going on 10 years now next year. I want to thank everybody that works for our school system. It takes us all. I appreciate all of our employees,” said Director Cripps.
Prior to his selection as Director in 2015, Cripps served as Principal at DCHS for three years. Cripps began his education career in DeKalb County as a Safe Schools Counselor in 1997. Two years later, Cripps was named a School Counselor at DCHS. In 2005, he moved up to becoming an Assistant Principal at DCHS, a position he held until being named Principal in 2012.
Cripps is only the fourth director of schools in DeKalb County since the state law changed in 1998 requiring school superintendents to be appointed by local boards of education instead of being popularly elected. The first appointed director locally was Aubrey Turner, Jr. who served from 1998-2002, followed by Jim McCormick from 2002-2006, and Mark Willoughby from 2006-2015. Dr. Danielle Collins was named as interim director in April 2015 after the departure of Willoughby and served three months in the position. She continues to serve today as Federal Programs Supervisor for the School System.