With more than 25 years of experience, award-winning educator Selecia Hardy says she still looks forward to the unique opportunities and challenges each new school year brings. Looking ahead to the 2021-22 school year specifically, Hardy is excited and ready to serve as the next principal of Hammond Hill Elementary School.
The Aiken County Board of Education approved Hardy’s appointment for the 2021-22 school year during the school board’s June 8, 2021, regularly scheduled meeting. Eric Jeffcoat, the school’s current principal, has accepted a position as an Executive Director of Elementary Schools for Aiken County Public Schools.
“I’m entering this new school year with pure excitement,” Hardy said. “We’re going to do everything and anything possible to ensure we continue the success of students and support our teachers in that process.”
With a passion for instruction, Hardy said one of her goals is to make sure every student can and will learn under the school’s collaborative leadership team. Driven by a comment made by a former elementary school teacher who said Hardy would never learn mathematics, she set her heart on becoming an educator from an early age to prove she could learn and excel in math.
“I have to make sure no child ever hears that again,” Hardy stated.
She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Bethune-Cookman University in Florida and a Master of Arts in Education from Gratz College in Pennsylvania and holds multiple certifications.
Hardy believes the school’s thematic program, Leader In Me, is a terrific match with her experience and knowledge related to both student instructional needs and how to maintain academic growth.
Her career in education includes many years of service in Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland where she worked as a math teacher, intervention specialist, assistant principal, and principal, and where she earned nominations as a Teacher of the Year and Principal of the Year.
More recently, she worked in the Clarke County School District in Georgia.
“I look forward to collaborating with teachers, students, families and community partners, and getting to know the community,” Hardy stated.
Hardy begins her new role as principal of Hammond Hill Elementary in July.
LINK TO DISTRICT PRESS RELEASE: 2021 PR HHE PRINCIPAL