ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — The Jennings School District has a new leader.
In a press release, the district announced the hiring of Paula D. Knight as the new superintendent, effective on July 1. The Jennings School Board unanimously approved the decision at a board meeting Tuesday.
She will replace Art McCoy, who announced in November that he would retire at the end of the 2020-21 school year. McCoy has been the superintendent of the Jennings School District since 2016. His last day is June 30.
Knight currently serves as the deputy superintendent in the St. Louis Public Schools system. She started her career as a classroom teacher at Hamilton Elementary School in the SLPS system in 1994.
She also served in various roles at Waring Academy of Basic Instruction and Washington & Euclid Montessori School.
In 2013, she was appointed to the Early Childhood Coordinating Board for the state of Missouri by then-Governor Jay Nixon, where she was tasked with increasing early-childhood enrollment in the city of St. Louis.
The press release said she also has a long history of public service, including with the St. Louis chapters of the Urban League, United Way and the Charmine Chapman Society.
Knight has a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from St. Louis University and Master's and Doctorate in Education Leadership from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
McCoy, who is retiring on June 30, has been selected to lead the Regional Business Council's STL.works program, an RBC workforce development initiative that supports St. Louisans in receiving skilled jobs and educational training program.
