Charleston County School District announces new Liberty Hill Academy leader

Charleston County School District (CCSD) announced that Colleen Carr has been named the new leader of Liberty Hill Academy, effective July 1, 2025. Carr has served as the district’s Director of Acceleration Schools since 2022, where she coached assistant principals. Under her guidance, schools experienced a decrease in disciplinary issues and improvements in attendance; this shift has helped support students by building teacher capacity.  Concurrently, Carr has served as interim principal at Simmons Pinckney Middle School, where she has made a significant impact on school culture, instructional practices, and student achievement.

With nearly 26 years of experience in education, Carr joined CCSD from Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS), where she held the position of Principal on Special Assignment for the College Fellows Program in the HCPS Transformation Network. Prior to that, she served as both assistant principal and principal of HCPS’ largest middle school, Beth Shields Middle, which boasts a diverse population of over 1,800 students. During her time there, Carr played a pivotal role in navigating the challenges of the global pandemic, successfully leading the school’s transition from in-person to virtual learning.

Known for her innovative approach, Carr also developed a unique accelerated program at Beth Shields that allowed students to earn up to 13 high school credits and fulfill their foreign language requirements before entering high school. Additionally, she achieved an impressive retention rate of ninety percent of her school’s staff and created a sixth-grade academy to support students in their transition to middle school.