Over the last four years as principal of Belvedere Elementary School Dr. Sal Minolfo says he has been blessed to serve students while surrounded by some of the very best educators in Aiken County. In his new role as Director of Administration for the school district, Minolfo will have the opportunity to provide support and guidance to many more educators.
Aiken County Board of Education members approved Minolfo’s appointment for the upcoming 2020-21 school year during the school board’s May 12 regularly scheduled meeting, held virtually due to the ongoing pandemic.
“I am really excited about this new opportunity,” Minolfo stated Wednesday. “It’s a new challenge and something I am looking forward to. I will be working on a wide variety of things such as helping schools build their respective renewal plans, school improvement councils and allocations, while also working with the District’s strategic plan, updating policies and procedures, updating the administrative handbook, and some aspects of human resources. These are all individual things I am excited and passionate about, but they are all interconnected and they help serve the school district as a whole.”
Minolfo says serving as the building leader at Belvedere Elementary was a great honor, one he will never forget.
“As a group of teachers and staff members we shifted from just being professionals to being collaborative learners, to being teacher leaders, and impacting how teaching is done across the school district,” commented Minolfo. “We were committed to one another and that was the vision all along as a principal, helping teachers and staff so they can grow and be successful whether you are there or not. It was a perfect situation for me. We saw student achievement rise together, and we became a group that would not accept the status quo and that’s a testament to them.”
Another area of Minolfo’s new responsibilities will include further development of a leadership pipeline across the school district. Minolfo recently co-led the school district’s Aspiring Principals Program, an initiative that will help ensure access to talented building leaders for many years.
“I will have the opportunity to look at how we develop our capacity as a school district and develop a generation of leaders; and not just school leaders, but leaders from across the school district,” Minolfo stated. “Under the guidance of our superintendent and key District leaders this role will really allow me to impact, potentially, the entire school district’s future. When you improve leaders, you improve schools. When you improve schools then students will achieve at a higher level. If I have the capacity to help facilitate that growth, our students and teachers will benefit from it and that’s very exciting.”
Minolfo’s academic background includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from the University of South Carolina Aiken, and a Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership from the University of South Carolina. Minolfo earned an Educational Specialist degree in Educational Leadership, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership from the University of South Carolina.
During his 26-year career in education, Minolfo has served as a science teacher at Aiken Middle School, as a building principal in the Marlboro County School District, and as a social studies teacher and math teacher at Leavelle McCampbell Middle School. He has also served in Aiken County Public Schools as Director of Special Programs, and as Principal and Assistant Principal at Redcliffe Elementary School.
He was named as the 2019-20 Aiken County Public School District’s Principal of the Year, and implemented the Mandarin Chinese partial immersion program at Belvedere Elementary School.
Minolfo will begin his duties as Director of Administration in July.
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LINK TO DISTRICT PRESS RELEASE: 2020 PR DIRECTOR OF ADMIN