Greenville Technical Charter High School (GTCHS) announced leadership transition plan

The Board of Greenville Technical Charter High School (GTCHS) voted unanimously to accept Principal Mary Nell Anthony’s request to shift to the next stage of her career and not return in fall of 2024 while simultaneously voting to approve contract negotiations with Dr. Rhonda Gregory to be the next principal of GTCHS.

Mrs. Anthony’s request stated that it has been “an honor and privilege” to serve as the school’s leader, and that she has accomplished much of what she set out to do when she accepted the position in 2016. In her tenure, the school has built the new Student Learning Center, achieved a 100% graduation rate, and consistently moved up in rankings on the state report card, Niche.com, and US News and World Report.  GTCHS also established the early college cohort with Greenville Technical College and are on track to graduate 30 Associate degrees with the Class of 2025.  In addition, Mrs. Anthony worked with the board to write policies, bring back community judging of senior projects, and re-establish the Charter Champion Awards. The school was designated as a top 3 national “Model Charter School” by the Building Hope Foundation in spring of 2023. Anthony commented, “It is my hope that when I depart at the end of this year, I will have left the school better than I found it, and that it will continue to thrive.  I believe that the mark of a successful leader is that they have grown leaders and put in place systems that will ensure the organization continues to be successful without them.”

The selected principal, Dr. Rhonda Gregory, is currently the Assistant Principal of Student Services at GTCHS. Dr. Gregory has over 18 years of experience in education with 11 of those years being in district and school administration.  Prior to joining Greenville Technical Charter High School, she served as a middle and high school English teacher, a middle school assistant principal, and a district office administrator. Most notably, she was awarded the South Carolina School Administrators Association South Carolina Assistant Principal of the Year Award for 2018.  In addition, she was named one of Anderson Independent’s 2017 “20 Under 40” Leadership Award winners, as well as earning Anderson University’s Distinguished Young Alumnus Award in 2018.  She has presented on numerous educational topics at the district, state, and national level and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Education from Anderson University, a Master’s degree from Furman University in School Leadership, an Educational Specialist Degree from Furman University in District Leadership and a doctorate in Curriculum and Assessment from Southern Wesleyan University.  Dr. Gregory has a clear passion to ensure all students find a path to success coupled with a love of GTCHS and all things “the warrior way.”  She is excited for this new role within GTCHS and looks forward to building upon an already excellent school community.

GTCHS Board Chair, Chris Loewer, stated the change in leadership was “bittersweet.”  He emphasized how far the school has come under the leadership of Mrs. Anthony.  Financially, the school is in a much more stable position, and instructionally, the school has ranked in the the top 10 of every major academic category in the state:  “We now have a national presence as a model for other charter schools like ours.”  Regarding Dr. Gregory, Loewer said GTCHS is fortunate to have her on deck, saying “She already knows our culture and The Warrior Way. Her work has strengthened our support with those students who need more assistance to meet our mastery goals; the support system she has implemented is really second to none.” He said GTCHS is in a great place because of the hard work of Mrs. Anthony and her staff has a bright future with Dr. Gregory taking the reins of the school in fall of 2024.

A drop-in welcome reception for Dr. Gregory will be held on January 23 from 4:30 – 5:30 in the Student Learning Center.