For two and a half years, including summers, Dr. Greg Mathison, head principal, went to class from 4:30 to 8:30 every Tuesday to earn his Ed. D, or Doctor of Educational Leadership.

This qualifies him as a strong educational leader in a public school setting and qualifies him for a superintendent position.

“I got it mainly to help polish my skills as an educational leader and be and example for the students to go as far as they can in education,” Mathiason said. “I also got it because my Dad got his PhD while I was in high school and saw the hard work he put into it, so I wanted to b like him.”

Mathison officially graduated on Sat. December 11 from Maryville University. This ended his eight and a half years of higher education including his undergraduate degree from Mizzou and two years for his master’s degree from Lindenwood University.

“I think this shows that you don’t have to be a 4.5 GPA student in high school and a valedictorian to accomplish something like this,” Mathison said. “It tells me that anyone in this school can do it with hard work and dedication.”