CCSD awarded $300,000 grant to strengthen instructional leadership

Charleston County School District (CCSD) has been awarded $300,000 from the South Carolina Department of Education through the state’s Instructional Leadership Accelerator Pilot Fund to strengthen instructional leadership and improve teaching and student outcomes across the district.

The grant will support sustained professional learning, leadership coaching, mentoring, and peer-learning opportunities for educators at multiple stages of their leadership journey, from teachers and teacher leaders to instructional coaches, assistant principals, principals, and district leaders.

Through partnerships with the University of Virginia’s Partnership for Leaders in Education and other leadership-development organizations, CCSD leaders will deepen their skills in classroom observation and feedback, instructional coaching, implementation of high-quality instructional materials, collaborative leadership, and continuous improvement. The investment will help develop a strong pipeline of instructional leaders equipped to support teachers, strengthen classroom instruction, and improve outcomes for every student.

“Charleston County School District is strengthening its commitment to instructional leadership through comprehensive leadership development strategies designed to improve teaching and student outcomes across the district,” said Jamie Costner, CCSD’s Director of Special Projects. “This initiative will provide targeted development and support for teachers, teacher leaders, aspiring instructional coaches, school-based coaches, assistant principals, principals, and district leaders.”

A key component of the initiative is CCSD’s partnership with the University of Virginia’s Partnership for Leaders in Education, which will provide executive learning, leadership coaching, and yearlong implementation support. CCSD will also provide professional development grounded in Paul Bambrick-Santoyo’s Leverage Leadership 3.0 work, along with additional learning opportunities focused on classroom observation and feedback, instructional coaching, high-quality instructional materials, collaborative leadership, and continuous improvement.

“Strong instructional leadership is at the heart of strong schools,” said Superintendent Anita Huggins. “When we invest in the people who support teaching and learning every day, we create the conditions for teachers to grow, students to thrive, and schools to continuously improve. This work is about building leadership capacity at every level so that excellence in instruction is not dependent on one person—it becomes part of who we are as a district.”

CCSD is also creating clear pathways for educators who want to expand their leadership roles. A teacher leadership pipeline is preparing educators to facilitate collaborative learning, strengthen instructional practices, and pursue future opportunities in instructional coaching or school leadership, also inspiring teachers to stay in the classroom. An instructional coach development pipeline supports aspiring coaches through focused professional development and provides mentoring for new instructional coaches.

Additional opportunities, including peer school visits, collaborative learning sessions, and instructional office hours, will give educators and leaders opportunities to learn from one another, share effective practices, and translate new learning into action in their schools.

“We want to create a sustainable leadership pipeline that begins in the classroom and extends into school and district leadership,” Huggins said. “Our teachers and school leaders have tremendous expertise. Our responsibility is to create meaningful opportunities for them to develop that expertise, share it with others, and grow as leaders. Ultimately, every investment we make in leadership must lead back to stronger teaching and better outcomes for every student.”