Changing District Leadership

The Dallas County R-I School district is pleased to announce the hire of Dr. Laura O’Quinn as the Deputy Superintendent for the 2024-2025 school year.  The purpose of the Deputy position is to enable them to work alongside Dr. Tim Ryan for at least one year prior to his upcoming retirement.  For DCR1 this will be the best method to ensure the upward trajectory continues long into the future.  Dr. Ryan stated, “Laura. O’Quinn has an amazing skill set and is certainly ready to step into the Superintendent role.  We are confident in her ability to keep our Dallas County Schools moving in a positive direction for many years to come”.

Dr. Laura O’Quinn has been serving as the Assistant Superintendent in the Lebanon School District for the past 6 years. O’Quinn, who has 21 years in education, began her career as a kindergarten teacher in the Camdenton School District. She went on to serve as an assistant principal at Dogwood Elementary in Camdenton and an elementary principal in the Marshfield School District. She has been in the Lebanon School District since 2018. 

“I am grateful for the opportunity to join the Dallas County School District and look forward to building lasting relationships with staff, students, and the community.” shared Dr. O’Quinn. “I am committed to ensuring continued improvement of the District and am eager to build upon the remarkable progress achieved under Dr. Ryan and the Board of Education's leadership." 

O’Quinn obtained a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Drury University, a master’s degree in educational administration from Southwest Baptist University, a specialist’s degree in educational administration from William Woods University, and a doctorate of education in educational leadership from Lindenwood University.

O’Quinn is married to her husband, Jared, who is also a school administrator and together they have three children Jayce, Jordan, and Harper.