Dean of the School of Education
Associate Professor of Education
Dr. Natalie Precise is an Associate Professor of Education in Drury University’s School of Education and Child Development. Her classes focus on literacy instruction including language development, reading and writing instruction, and literacy integration. She teaches many undergraduate and graduate courses including Methods of Teaching Language Arts and Content Area Literacy. She also teaches Professional Preparation in Teacher Education and the Student Teaching Support Seminar.
Dr. Precise comes to Drury University after serving eight years in the public-school system where she taught fifth grade for seven years and math intervention for one year. Dr. Precise’s certifications include Elementary Education grades 1-6 and an Elementary Principal certification.
Dr. Precise’s research includes a thesis focused on job sharing in the regular education classroom and a dissertation entitled, “Leadership Implications for Teaching Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in the General Education Classroom.” She was also a finalist for the 2012 Dan Cockrell Dissertation of the Year Award. She maintains a literacy-focused blog and has published several articles from her dissertation research.
Dr. Precise was recently named the Dean of the School of Education and Child Development in 2021. She was also a 40 Under 40 honoree for Springfield Business Journal in early 2021.
Dr. Precise is married and has three children. Ainsley, Finley, and Zane all play a role in her dedication to educating tomorrow’s future educators.
Drury University faculty member since 2013 Associate Professor since 2019
Education
A.A., Elementary Education, Crowder College, 2002
B.S., Elementary Education, Missouri State University, 2004
MS.Ed., Education Administration – Elementary Principal, Missouri State University, 2007
Ed.D., Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, University of Missouri-Columbia, 2012
