Philip Lanoue, the schools chief in the Clarke County school district in Athens, Ga., was named national superintendent of the year last week in San Diego.
The announcement came during the annual conference of AASA, the School Superintendents Association.
Mr. Lanoue has led the 13,000-student Clarke County school system since 2009.
The other finalists were MaryEllen Elia, the former superintendent of the Hillsborough County schools in Tampa, Fla.; Patrick Murphy of the Arlington, Va., schools; and Patrice Pujol of the Ascension Public Schools in Donaldsville, La.
All four finalists were selected as winners in their individual state contests for superintendent of the year.
