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Newberry superintendent lays out "grow your own" leadership, safety and induction priorities after first 100 days
Summary
Superintendent Doctor Anderson told the board she completed about 90% of items in her first-100-days plan and proposed a multi-year push on leadership development, expanded safety and reunification planning, stronger early-childhood partnerships, mentoring and an expanded induction program to retain teachers.
Doctor Anderson, Newberry County's superintendent, said the district has completed roughly 90% of the tasks in her initial plan and outlined priorities she wants the board to pursue over the next three to five years.
"First 100 day plan, 90% of those boxes are checked off," Anderson said, describing work to listen, learn and assess since taking office. She proposed a "grow your own" leadership program to prepare teachers and assistant principals for administrative roles and argued the district should intentionally develop leadership pipelines rather than rely on outside hires.
Anderson also said the district will expand its safety program to emphasize reunification planning: when an evacuation is required, the district needs clearer procedures for where students go and how parents are notified. "Safety is first," she said, adding she hopes to coordinate reunification drills with local law enforcement.
The superintendent recommended deeper partnerships with local early-childhood providers so students arrive at kindergarten better prepared, and called the district's career center "a hidden diamond" that should be connected to local industry to meet workforce needs. On teacher retention, Anderson proposed adding a second year to the state-mandated induction program and then quarterly cohort meetings in year three to support new teachers through their first critical years in the classroom.
Anderson said the district will expand the next five-year strategic plan to include finance, student services, human resources and operations in addition to instruction so budgeting and operations align with priorities. She told the board the updated district strategic plan will guide the budget and serve as the district's "heartbeat." "Our district strategic plan is truly the heartbeat of what we do every day and why we do it," Anderson said.
Board members signaled broad support for the proposals and asked for a series of stakeholder meetings and a deep dive over coming months; Anderson said the revised plan will be iterative and will continue to evolve across the 2026-27 cycle. The board plans follow-up discussions in upcoming work sessions and will use the strategic plan to frame budget choices.
