Advance graduate will become superintendent of its schools

Shannon Garner

ADVANCE, Mo. - Shannon Garner, the soon-to-be superintendent of the Advance R-IV School District, is no stranger to its workings.

Although he's spent the past two years as a principal in Zalma, Missouri, Garner served the previous seven years as principal of the elementary school in Advance.

He said he decided to return after hearing Stan Seiler had taken early retirement in April for health and family reasons. Seiler had been superintendent for six years.

"It took a while for me to decide whether I was going to come back," Garner said.

Ultimately, he opted to interview for the job because he thought the district would benefit from having a local person at its helm.

"I was born and raised here in Advance, I went to school in Advance and graduated from here. It's my hometown," he said.

Besides getting used to his new position and preparing for a new school year, Garner said his most immediate goal is see through the remaining construction of a FEMA safe room that has been in the works since the fall.

"That's the biggie right now," he said.

The structure is expected to be completed by the time school begins in August, along with two new classrooms that will be used for art and music. The classrooms connect the safe room to the main school building.

Previously, those subjects were taught in regular classrooms that didn't have much space for students to work on special projects, he said.

Another issue on Garner's plate is helping teachers stay on top of the recently approved Missouri Learning Standards, which have replaced Common Core as the guiding force for the curriculum.

He also said he plans to continue the good work that has been accomplished in the district of about 240 students.

During Seiler's tenure as superintendent, a new agriculture building was constructed, dual-credit courses became available at the high school, standardized test scores rose to nearly 95 percent, the graduation rate hit almost 96 percent and a full-service preschool opened.

Garner will begin his new role July 1.