Wando principal selected to lead CCSD high schools as associate superintendent

Charleston County School District (CCSD) announced and welcome Dr. Sherry Eppelsheimer as Associate Superintendent of High Schools. Eppelsheimer has served as principal at Wando High School, one of the largest schools in the state, for the last seven years.

A career educator, Eppelsheimer began her service to students in 1989 in Greenwood School District 50 at Greenwood High School in Greenwood, SC. She taught English for 14 years at Greenwood while also holding an adjunct teaching position at nearby Piedmont Area Consortium and Piedmont Technical College.

In 2003, Eppelsheimer used her talents in the classroom to further her impact with students by becoming an instructional specialist at Brewer Middle School. In this role, she coached and collaborated with administrators, teachers, and staff in the latest development in curriculum, instruction, classroom management, and technology integration. She also collected and analyzed student performance data and worked to establish positive relationships with all stakeholders. It was also during this time that Eppelsheimer was named Director of the ELA Vertical Team and served as the Summer Enrichment and Intervention Director from 2006-2008.

After nearly 20 years of service in Greenwood, Eppelsheimer left the Midlands for the Lowcountry, taking an assistant principal position as Wando High School in Mt. Pleasant, SC. As an assistant principal, Eppelsheimer oversaw administrative functions such as textbooks, buses, orientation, and registration, as well as administered standardized tests and served as 504 coordinator. She also served on the High Schools That Work Technical Assistance Team, was trained in Capturing Kids’ Hearts programming and served as the school’s coordinator for this training, and was named the SAT and ACT site coordinator for Mount Pleasant.

It was only a short time before Eppelsheimer was promoted from assistant principal to associate principal at Wando where she continued to grow her leadership skills while assisting in all areas of high school management, administration, and daily activities. A demonstrated leader, in 2015, Eppelsheimer was named interim principal of Wando High after long-time Wando High School Principal Lucy Beckham took the role of Executive Principal of East Cooper Schools.

As interim principal, Eppelsheimer planned and directed the overall activities of a high school serving 3,500 students with nearly 300 staff members. She oversaw recruitment, hiring and retention, professional development, faculty and staff evaluations, fiscal management, administration organization, student discipline, program initiatives, and team building. She was promoted to the position permanently one year later in 2016.

Eppelsheimer holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Lander University and a Master of Education in Secondary Guidance and Counseling from Clemson University. She completed her EDLP certification and earned a Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of South Carolina. Recognized for her outstanding leaderships and talents, Eppelsheimer is the recipient of several awards including the Greenwood County and District 2 Business and Professional Women’s Young Careerist of the Year Award (1995), Greenwood High School Teacher of the Year (1994-95), WYFF Channel 4 Golden Apple Teacher Award (1998), Greenwood School District 50 and Greenwood County Star Teacher Award (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004), Brewer Middle School Teacher of the Year Award (2006-07), and the South Carolina Librarian Association Intellectual Freedom Award (2019). She also serves on the East Cooper Medical Center Governing Board.

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), a nationally-accredited school district, is the second largest school system in South Carolina representing a unique blend of urban, suburban, and rural schools spanning 1,300 square miles along the coast. CCSD serves more than 50,000 students in 87 schools and specialized programs. With approximately 6,100 employees district-wide, CCSD is the fourth largest employer in the region.

CCSD offers a diverse, expanding portfolio of options and specialized programs, delivered through neighborhood, charter, magnet, IB (international baccalaureate), and Montessori schools, and is divided into three Learning Communities. Options include specialized programs in science, engineering and mathematics; liberal arts; music and other creative and performing arts; career and technical preparation programs; and military and other public service enterprises.