The incoming principal of Mark Twain School aims to merge his backgrounds in ministry and behavior disorder consultation to help non-traditional students thrive by modeling both accountability and compassion, he says.

“At Mark Twain, what I’ve seen there, you have a specialized group of students that have diverse needs, who have not been able to meet their potential,” Matt Drake observed. “For some reason, there are barriers in their way.”

Hailing from Dexter, Drake was hired by the Board of Education in April as the building administrator over R-I district’s alternative school. He filled in at Mark Twain for a few weeks in May when his predecessor, Maddy Ringer, left on maternity leave. 

“His extensive background working with diverse populations makes him an excellent fit for our Mark Twain campus,” said Dr. Aaron Cornman, Poplar Bluff superintendent. “…Mr. Drake spent some time at Mark Twain at the end of last school year which we believe will assist with his transition, allow him to quickly acclimate, and put new systems and processes in place to benefit the students we serve.”

Drake has worked with special education populations since 2009, beginning at an autism and behavioral clinic in Northeast Arkansas after obtaining his bachelor's degree in communication disorders from East Tennessee State University.

During his undergraduate studies en route to becoming a speech pathologist, he had an aha moment when he found himself bored shadowing at a speech clinic, he recalled. It was at this time he witnessed a specialist working on comprehension skills with a child who had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

“Seeing a kid excited as new pathways and a new world opened up when he learned that rather than throwing a tantrum, here’s how I can communicate – through pictures and signs, then there’s the elation of parents with the therapist working with him,” Drake explained. “It’s not so much about reducing the problems with behaviors, it’s about teaching the appropriate skills to replace those behavioral problems so the child can grow into as successful of a person in whatever capacity they have.”

With this newfound objective, Drake completed the applied behavior analysis program through the Florida Institute of Technology in 2011. He later earned his mild/moderate cross-categorical K-12 certification from Central Methodist University in Fayette, as well as his master’s in educational leadership from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro in 2023.

He originally began his higher education at Crowley's Ridge College in Paragould where he grew up, earning his associate in Biblical studies. Coming from a lineage of educators, including a father who doubled as a preacher, Drake has also been involved in ministery since he was a teenager.

Besides working for a few years with adult clients with disabilities as a case manager through the Missouri Department of Mental Health, Drake spent over a decade at the New Dawn School for the Severely Disabled in Sikeston, where he taught and later served as building principal in the K-12 educational institution.

“The ways that alternative schools and state schools are similar is that they have a unique at-risk group that have specialized needs that require staff there intentionally invested in them, prepared for very diverse challenges that they might not see at another campus, requiring an exceptional amount of compassion and structure,” Drake stated. “No matter what they’ve done, they are worthy, they are loved and they are worth fighting for.”

Mark Twain is in year seven serving grades 7-12, with the Middle School cohort having returned to dedicated space established at its home campus on Victory Lane this past school year. The goal is to serve 100-120 students on the North Main Street facility.

Drake plans to separate the campus into two functions: credit recovery in A-Building and restoration in B-Building, which will also serve as the district's hub for its Social Services Department. C-Building temporarily houses the district's Hope Academy, a school-based treatment program for younger students, operating separately from the alternative school.

In addition, Mark Twain will continue to house the Jobs for America’s Graduates program, a project-based learning elective that provides career exploration opportunities, alongside the PASS program, which provides positive alternatives to student suspension.

Credit recovery services through Missouri Options and Edgenuity’s blended learning curriculum will aim to bring students who have fallen behind back on grade level. The district’s nine-year partnership with FCC Behavioral Health allows for counseling services to be offered on-site individually and in group settings in an effort to provide the tools requisite to transition students back to their home campus of Junior or Senior High.

“If kids can leave knowing they are not failed by the system or home, but rather they are people valuable or worthy—to me, that’s a win over graduation rates,” Drake commented. “You’re not defined by whatever troubles you have or choices you make. It may be a long endeavor, but that’s OK, we have time.”

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Cutline: Matt Drake will continue to lead Mark Twain School, after gaining some initial experience with the building staff filling in at the end of last school year.