Jonathan Phipps, Abbeville, SC Work experiences• Superintendent Abbeville County Schools ............................... 2014-present

• SecondaryEducationDirector Lancaster County School District ...........................2012-14

• Principal Buford High ...............................................................2007-12

• Principal A.R. Rucker Middle ..................................................2005-07

• AdjunctProfessor South Piedmont Community College ....................2003-06

• AssistantPrincipal Indian Land Elementary and Middle .....................2001-05

• SiteAdministrator,SummerPrograms Indian Land Elementary/Middle ........................1999-2005

• Teacher Barr Street Middle ................................................1995-2001

• Manager S&K Menswear ..........................................................1992-94

Education• PhD.–LeadershipinEducationalAdministration Capella University .....................................................2007-12

• EdS.–LeadershipinEducationalAdministration Capella University .....................................................2007-09

• AdministrationCertificationProgram Winthrop University ................................................2000-01

• Master’sofEducation/EarlyChildhood University of South Carolina ...................................1997-98

• B.A.History/Education University of North Carolina at Charlotte .............1990-95

S.C. Licenses/Certificates• ElementaryPrincipal• ElementarySupervisor• SecondaryPrincipal• SecondarySupervisor• MiddleSchoolSocialStudies• SecondarySocialStudies• Superintendent

Professional Development& Contributions• RotaryClub Chair-Elect..................................................... 2017-present Member........................................................... 2014-present• TenattheTopBoardMember............... 2017-present• WesternPiedmontEducationConsortium Member...........................................................2014-present BoardChair........................................................... 2016-17

• AbbevilleUnitedWayBoardMember ...................................................................... 2014-present

• AbbevilleEconomicDevelopment SteeringCommitteeMember.................. 2015-present• LancasterUnitedWayBoardMember ...............................................................................2012-14

• LancasterCountyChamberofCommerce BoardMember....................................................2012-14

Page 2 in Lancaster County School DistrictLearning

• StudentAssistanceTeam.............................1996-2012

• HopeontheHillBoardMember.................2006-14• BetaClubAdvisor.................................1997-2000• William&Marytraining forLanguageArts....................................................1999

• CelebrateGreatTeachingAwardNominee .......................................................................1999 & 2000

MyfirstmealinAbbevillewasattheVillageGrill.Thewaitress

askedmywifeandIifwefromthearea.Mywifesmiled,andIsaid,“Ihaveappliedtoworkwiththeschooldistrict.” The waitress responded with,“Ourschoolsaregreat.Theteacherscareaboutstudents,andtheparentsaresosupportive.Mysonplaysfoot-ball,andhereallyloveshisschool.” Duringthesummer,Istoppedbyschoolstovisitandmeetprincipals.Somewerelookingattestdata,somewereworkingwithourcustodianstotrim bushes or repair playgrounds.Otherswerehelpingteachers. Clearly,theprincipalsweredoingalltheycouldtoprepareforthefirstdayofschool. Andon thefirst dayof school, Igotupearly torideaschoolbus tomeet students and see the commu-nity.Thebusdrivercalled thechil-drenbynameastheygoton,andsheasked, “How was your summer?”The bus driver’s relationship withthesestudentswasunbelievable. Now,asIvisitclassesaroundthedistrict, I see teachers smiling andworking with our students. Everyschool Ivisit seems tohavesuchapositive atmosphere – the studentsareengagedinlearning.Everyteach-erIseeisupandhelpingstudents. OneMondayearlyinmysuperin-tendency,IwasaskedaquestiononanarticleIwroteinthelocalpaper. “How did every school in Ab-

beville receiveanAon theFederalReportCard?”StateSuperintendentMickZaiscalledtoask.

So, toanswerDr.Zais’squestion,ourcommunityofparents,teach-

ers, administrators, staff membersandstudentsworktogethertomakegoodthingshappeninourschools. I am proud that out of 82 SCschooldistricts,wereceivedthe3rdhighestgradeinthestateonourfed-eralschoolreportcard. Butnomatterwhatgradeisgiven,I know our teachers and staff give100% tohelpour students achieve.That’sallanyonecanask. Overthelastfewyears,myfeel-ings and beliefs on what makes asuccessful district haven’t changed.First, it’s the people, not the pro-grams.Ibelievewehiregoodqual-ityfolksandspendourresourcestoenableandequipteachersandprin-cipalstodoagoodjob.Technology,new programs and other big ticketitemsaretoolsforteachers.Butbe-ing people-driven – not program-driven–isoneofmycorebeliefs. Secondly,we do not strive to bewinners;westrivetobechampions.Winnersareshort term.Championsbuildalastingprogramofsuccess. Buildingaclimateofhighexpec-tations is the key for high studentachievement.Everyone– from stu-dents to teachers to district staff –should have high expectations.Weonlyachievewhatweexpect. A successfuldistrict shouldhave

very open communication at everylevel.Awiseleaderoncetoldmehehada“nosurpriserule.”Iagreewiththisphilosophy.Weneedcommuni-cation strong enough to ensure weare not surprised – communicationmustbeanongoingdialogue. Finally and most importantly,putourchildrenfirst.Dr.PatBurnstaughtmeyearsagothatwecan’tgowrongifwebaseeverydecisiononwhatisbestforstudents.Ihavetriedtoliveoutthisphilosophyasateach-er,principalandsuperintendent. The right focus, open communi-cationandhighexpectationshelpadistrictbecomemorethanaplacetowork.Thedistrictbecomesafamilyof educatorswhowant thebest forstudents.ThisismyvisionforLan-casterCountySchoolDistrict.

Here’s the key to school district success

Jonathan Phipps

The VisitJonathan

PhippsMonday, May 1