Stiles Point interim principal to serve permanently
March 13, 2022
Charleston County School District (CCSD) is excited to announce Shannon McAlister as principal at Stiles Point Elementary School. McAlister joined CCSD in 2014 and served as Stiles Point’s assistant principal for two years. She has served as the school’s interim principal during the 2021-2022 school year.
McAlister began her teaching career as a third grade teacher at Oakway Elementary School in Seneca, SC. The following year, McAlister moved to Asheville, NC where she taught at both Carolina Day School and Johnston Elementary School over the next three years.
In 1996, McAlister relocated to Columbia, SC to join Richland School District Two as a third grade teacher at Lonnie B. Nelson Elementary School. Four years later, McAlister returned to the Upstate to teach fourth grade in Anderson District One. She also served as an adjunct professor at both Clemson University and Furman University during this time.
Beginning in 2001, McAlister took a teacher specialist position with the South Carolina State Department of Education working directly with Allendale County Schools, Richland School District One, and Charleston County Schools. In this role, she conducted ongoing formative observations and provided diagnostic feedback and remediation to educators. She also planned and conducted professional development, analyzed curriculum and made recommendations for revisions or modifications, and used evidence-based mentoring to provide formative assessment and facilitate professional growth of teachers.
After five years with the state department, McAlister joined the administrative team at Irmo Elementary School in Lexington Richland School District Five as the assistant principal. She served in this capacity for two years before becoming the school’s principal for the next six years. While at Irmo Elementary, McAlister initiated a 4H gardening program and created a tuition-based, self-sufficient 4K program called EXCEL (Exposing Children to Early Learning). Additionally, she started a fifth grade yearbook journalism class, initiated looping first to second grade, and oversaw renovations of the historic school building and construction of the new school. She was also the recipient of several awards including the Exemplary Writing Award in 2008 and 2011 and the Blue Ribbon Lighthouse Award in 2009.
McAlister left the Midlands for the Lowcountry in 2014, joining CCSD as a teacher effectiveness specialist. For the next two years, McAlister conducted classroom observations across the district and provide diagnostic feedback, as well as plan and conduct professional development for teachers and administrators. She would go on to briefly serve as a first grade master teacher at Edmund A. Burns Elementary School before becoming the assistant principal at Pepperhill Elementary School and eventually the assistant principal at Stiles Point.
McAlister earned a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Clemson University, a Master of Education in Elementary Education from Cambridge College in Massachusetts, and a Master of Education in Elementary Administration from the University of South Carolina. She also holds a Master’s plus 30 from Columbia College in Divergent Learning and a Bachelor’s plus 18 from Furman University in Elementary Education.
For more information, contact the Division of Strategy and Communications at (843) 937-6303.
About the Charleston County School District
Charleston County School District (CCSD) is a nationally accredited school district committed to providing equitable and quality educational opportunities for all of its students. CCSD is the second-largest school system in South Carolina and represents a unique blend of urban, suburban, and rural schools spanning 1,300 square miles along the coast. CCSD serves approximately 49,000 students in 88 schools and specialized programs.
CCSD offers a diverse, expanding portfolio of options and specialized programs, delivered through neighborhood, magnet, IB (international baccalaureate), Montessori, and charter schools. Options include programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); music and other creative and performing arts; career and technical preparation programs; and military.
