Richland Two Superintendent Dr. Baron R. Davis wins national humanitarian award

December 7, 2020

AASA, The School Superintendents Association, has announced that Richland Two Superintendent Dr. Baron R. Davis is a recipient of the organization’s 2021 Dr. Effie H. Jones Humanitarian Award. This award is an annual recognition of education leaders committed to the advancement and mentorship of women and minorities, and/or addressing social justice issues among children and adults in schools. Individuals selected for this award exemplify the qualities modeled by the late Dr. Effie Hall Jones, a school administrator, teacher, counselor and former AASA associate executive director. These distinctive attributes include a professional and personal commitment to diversifying the field of education and ensuring the best education for all students.

Dr. Davis was nominated by former School Board Chairman James “Jamie” Shadd, III. Current School Board Chairman James Manning says, “Dr. Davis is very deserving of this honor. He is building a legacy on creating innovative structures to achieve goals of equity, equality, and excellence. On behalf of the Richland Two Board of Trustees, I want to thank him for being a champion for students and public education.”

Dr. Davis is the first Black superintendent in the district’s 90-plus-years history. He was selected for this award because of his dedication to dismantling historical and current policies and practices that create structures and conditions of inequity and inequality in education.

”I am humbled and honored to be a recipient of this prestigious award. This is a true district award and recognition. I strongly believe inequities lead to student outcomes that do not accurately reflect their abilities and potential, and tragically, limits future success. I am extremely proud of the work this administration and Board of Trustees accomplished in establishing a school board Equity Policy that commits to providing resources for student success and employing a high quality, diverse staff,” said Davis.

Discovering his passion and purpose early in life, Dr. Davis has been a trailblazer for public education for over two decades. He has made increasing recruitment and retention of male teachers of color a priority by launching the Premier 100 initiative. About 6 percent of Richland Two’s teachers are male and minority. Nationally that number drops to less than 2 percent, despite the rising percentage of students of color. Premier 100 partners with the Call Me MISTER program to recruit and retain male educators of color. His inclusionary practices led to 17 district magnet programs earning national certification from Magnet Schools of America and eight being named Demonstration Schools.

Dr. Davis holds a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology from Francis Marion University, master’s degrees in school counseling and educational administration, and Educational Specialist and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in educational counseling from the University of South Carolina (UofSC). He’s a superintendent in residence in the UofSC College of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policies. Dr. Davis, a Columbia native, is a member of Brookland Baptist Church. He and his wife, Pamela, have two daughters who attend school in Richland Two and another who recently graduated from a district high school.

Dr. Davis is one of three honorees receiving this award. They will be recognized at AASA’s (virtual) 2021 National Conference on Education in February.