Fordland R-3 School District is proud to announce that Stephanie Vickers will be the next Superintendent of Schools starting July 1, 2023. Mrs. Vickers will succeed Dr. Chris Ford who is retiring at the end of the 2022-23 school year. For the past two years, she has served as the elementary principal in Fordland, Missouri.

Mrs. Vickers began her career teaching in Columbia Public Schools. She then spent 17 years teaching middle school math and elementary grades in the Independence School District. Before serving as the Fordland Elementary Principal, Mrs. Vickers was also an elementary principal in Raytown, Missouri. She is a former Teacher of the Year for the Independence School District and worked for two years as a Teaching Ambassador Fellow for the Department of Education in Washington D.C.

Mrs. Vickers graduated from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education and French. She received her Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from MU as well. Vickers then earned her specialist degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Central Missouri. She is currently finishing her doctoral program at William Woods University.

She is the proud wife of John, a retired educator and current Fordland boys basketball coach. Together they have four children-Sophia, Isaac, Lydia and Sam. Mrs. Vickers is humbled and excited to continue working with the students, staff, and families. “Since moving to the Ozarks, the community of Fordland has welcomed and embraced our family. We are blessed to call this our home. We have an excellent school district and I am committed to maintaining a high-quality educational experience for our students. The future is bright at Fordland R-3 Schools.”

We have hit flu and cold season, and as many of you probably already know, we are seeing a lot of illnesses that are causing students to miss multiple days. We are doing our best to keep things taken care of at the schools, but we are asking for your help at home, too.

Please keep your students home if they have any of these symptoms:

• Fever of 100.0 or greater or chills
• Difficulty breathing
• Excessive fatigue
• Body aches
• Sore throat
• Headache with any of the other symptoms
• Vomiting or diarrhea

If your student has a fever of 100.0 or above, has been vomiting or having diarrhea, they cannot come back to school for 24 hours without the use of medication. The 24 hours starts after the last bout of vomiting and/or diarrhea and the last fever of 100.0 or above without medication.

Please encourage kids to use healthy hygiene practices, such as showering, brushing teeth, washing hands, washing clothing, and washing backpacks.

Thank you for all that you do to help us keep our students and staff healthy

Meet Mrs. Koenig! Resilient, loyal, and ambitious are three words that describe this fantastic, fifth grade teacher. Mrs. Koenig has been a part of the Fordland family for the past 7 years. She previously served our students as a Title Math Interventionist. When she's not at school, you can find Mrs. Koenig hanging out with her husband and kids.

Q: What is your favorite thing about working at Fordland R-III?

A: "The kids, of course!"

Q: Tell us something surprising about yourself?

A: "I was a "plain-clothes" shopper at Target. They paid me to shop and catch shoplifters."

Q: What advice would you give our students?

A: "Be the hardest worker in the room; progress not perfection."

Website: https://www.fordland.k12.mo.us/
Location: 1230 School Street, Fordland, MO, USA
Phone: 417-767-2298
Twitter: @FordlandR3Scho1