Elementary schools in Aiken County will have a pair of new leaders on the Executive Leadership Team beginning with the 2018-19 school year. At tonight’s regularly scheduled meeting, school board members unanimously approved Julie Revelle, an experienced educator and instructional leader, to serve in one of those positions.
Since 2009, Revelle has led Redcliffe Elementary School as Principal. Her visionary leadership, instructional focus and precision have influenced student achievement as well as the culture of the school serving the Jackson and Beech Island communities. Under her leadership, the percentage of students who are meeting and exceeding state standards in social studies, math and writing has risen by double-digits, with increases of 18% in social studies (2010-2017), 17.2% in math (2010-2014) and 14.7% in writing.
“Every minute with our students counts and it’s important that we make them count,” Revelle commented on the academic gains and attention on student learning at Redcliffe.
Revelle previously served Aiken County Public Schools as an Assistant Principal at North Aiken Elementary, from 2006-2009, and as an English Language Arts (ELA) teacher at Kennedy Middle. During her time at Kennedy, she also advised the Yearbook Staff and Literary Magazine, led the 6th Grade ELA Cluster and co-chaired the Southern Association of College and Schools.
She earned a Masters in Educational Administration degree from the University of South Carolina in 2004 and a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Purdue University in 1992.
Revelle will continue to serve as Principal of Redcliffe Elementary for the remainder of the 2017-18 school year and begin her service as a district-level administrator following the upcoming June 2018 retirements of Janice Kitchings and Laurie Reese, who currently serve as Executive Directors of Elementary Schools. Dr. Kitchings will retire with over 32 years of educational experience. Prior to leading the instructional program for elementary schools, Kitchings worked at the elementary and middle school levels as a teacher, Lead Teacher/Curriculum Coordinator, a Teacher Specialist on Site through the S.C. State Department of Education, a Reading Coach, and an elementary principal. Mrs. Reese has more than 29 years of educational experience working with the Aiken County Public School District. She taught grades three and five for twelve years and was named Teacher of the Year on two occasions. Mrs. Reese served as an assistant principal for eight years and school principal for five years prior to being named Executive Director for Elementary Schools for the district in 2014.
“The 60-plus years of combined experience of our retiring Executive Directors of Elementary Schools presents both unique challenges and exciting opportunities for us,” Dr. Sean Alford, Superintendent, commented. “With a well-suited combination of experiences, including administrative leadership in elementary schools, teaching experience at the middle-school level, as well as well-established and collegial relationships with our principals, we’re confident in the selection of Mrs. Revelle and in her ability to advance elementary school education in our district.”
As an Executive Director of Elementary Schools, Revelle will be responsible for supporting building level principals and the instructional and operational programming at half of the district’s 20 elementary schools. An additional Elementary School Executive Director, to serve alongside Revelle, will be announced in the coming months.
“I look forward to working and collaborating with our elementary principals,” she commented. “We must remain focused and not let anything distract us from the work of activating knowledge for Aiken County’s students. We’ll work together to make learning fun while also ensuring that standards of student knowledge are at the forefront of all we do.”
LINK TO DISTRICT PRESS RELEASE: 2018 PR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JULIE REVELLE