For 10 years, Amanda Davis had great joy when one of her Altus students experienced academic breakthrough moments. Now, she gets to promote all types of student and districtwide successes as director of public relations.
“It’s the best job in the district because I get to be a cheerleader for the (Altus school) district and share student achievements with the community,” she said.
Some of the students Davis taught in third grade were moving up to the high school when she took her current job in 2013, allowing her to promote their academic and athletic achievements at the high school level. In her current post, she also gets to disseminate good news like passage of a bond issue, Department of Defense grants, adding fifth- and sixth-grade sports and the introduction of E-Sports into the district’s extracurricular activities.
As public relations director, Davis deals with all district communications, marketing and “other duties,” which include school district social media and communicating with newspapers and television and radio stations. She also works with the district’s administration, seven school sites and the Altus Board of Education in delivering the district’s messaging to parents. Davis also must serve as a liaison between Altus schools and Altus Air Force Base.
One of the biggest announcements Davis delivered was a $50 million grant to build a new Rivers Elementary School on the Air Force base. At the same time, Davis was at the forefront of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when the district embarked on Operation Bulldog Thunder, which consisted of delivering meals to students’ home for almost three months while school was closed.
Davis coordinated with volunteers, donors and the cleaning crew during Operation Bulldog Thunder.
“We put out a menu each week, and the whole operation was a huge undertaking,” she said.
Davis also has been the district spokeswoman when partnering with the city of Altus on a recent MAPS project.
“It’s very different from being in a classroom when a student has that aha moment. Now, I’m having 3,000 kiddos who are being affected,” she said.
Davis taught first, third, fifth and sixth grades before moving to her public relations role, which she said was a “wonderful transition” that allowed her to tell the stories of students, teachers and the district.
“I think regardless of the job, it boils down to relationships, whether in first grade or dealing with adults in the community,” she said.
One of the larger district projects Davis has promoted involves the remodeling of the high school auditorium, which will host its first full-scale, all-school production in November.
Davis is also involved in the Altus community as an ex-officio member of the Chamber of Commerce. She makes speeches on behalf of the school district whenever possible.
“We don’t say no when we’re asked to talk about our schools,” she said. “If you name it, we’ve probably been there.”
Other civic leadership roles Davis is part of involve the base’s Air Education Training Center, which meets quarterly to discuss issues between the base and the school district. She also travels to other Air Force bases to learn how they conduct joint programs with their local school districts.
Davis was named Teacher of the Year at Altus Intermediate School in 2011 and in 2012 was awarded the Air Force STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Award.
Davis graduated in 2003 with an elementary education degree from Oklahoma State University. Fifteen years later, she earned her master’s in education administration from Southwestern Oklahoma State University.