“Delivering Excellence”

August 19th, 2008: We were privileged to have our member, Dr. Nancy McGinley, provide an insightful look at the challenges she faces and the successes she’s achieved. As Superintendent of the Charleston County School District, she leads 5,000 employees serving 42,000 students in 80 schools with 5 special programs in a radius of 100 miles. While we read and hear about the schools, students, teachers and the Board, the real story is the progress being made under Dr. McGinley’s leadership.

Dr. McGinley opened her talk with a tongue & cheek comparison of the sport of surfing, being an avid enthusiast, and being Superintendent. She said that in both you must navigate through rough waters, not be afraid of sharks and sometimes get hit by a board. While this was a humorous way to look at challenges she faces, all were in awe of her challenges and successes she had achieved in a short time. This year the District had 450 new students after a 5 year decline. This comes from her approach; “stop planning for excellence and start expecting it.”

Because she wakes up every day in awe of the power of education, she’s focused on delivering real results for students, parents, community and those in the educational system. The District is moving further toward establishing community learning centers not just for children, but also for parents in order to make school a more integral part of the community. The Community Outreach Program, designed to get children into school, has been very successful using innovative techniques such as the First Day Festival and even getting 10 North Charleston police officers to identify school-age children and get them into school.

The District is continuing to focus on expansion of the enrichment of programs by adding foreign languages, arts, sports and other activities that make the school a more enriching experience. She is leading the District to expand more options that parents can select; including charter schools, magnet schools, partial magnet schools, neighborhood schools and career academies to better meet the needs of children.

While there were many accomplishments, including improvement in test scores and creating a better environment by an aggressive building program, the real key was Dr. McGinley’s focus on the essential part of the learning experience. Her mantra “victory in the classroom” and stressing that everyone is there to support the teacher are two of the key reasons why significant improvements have been made and will continue to increase.

Submitted by Wayne Outlaw, Keyway Committee