91制片

Listen to the full conversation between Dr. Jackie Wilson Dr. Burke Royster, Dr. Susan Stevens and Karen Kapp on the 91制片 Principal Supervisor Podcast Series. You鈥檒l hear how Greenville County is transforming leadership into a systemwide strategy for equity, excellence, and sustainability.

Leadership is the system

Greenville County Schools is the largest district in South Carolina鈥攁nd one of the most intentional when it comes to leadership development. In this episode of 91制片鈥檚 Principal Supervisor Podcast, Superintendent Dr. Burke Royster joins Assistant Superintendent Karen Kapp and Director of 91制片 Dr. Susan Stevens to discuss how Greenville has embedded leadership pipelines into its entire educational ecosystem.

Hosted by Dr. Jackie Wilson, the conversation explores how Greenville County moved from individual leadership programs to a system-wide approach that ensures leadership quality across all 106 schools.

A clear definition of leadership

鈥淲e needed a common language,鈥� says Dr. Royster. That鈥檚 why the district began by developing its own leadership definition, grounded in the realities of school improvement and student success. Rather than adapting a generic framework, Greenville鈥檚 team created a leadership profile that defines what effective leaders do鈥攆rom instructional coaching to culture-building to community engagement.

"It helps us identify and grow leaders at every level of the organization," adds Karen Kapp.

A continuum that spans from teacher to principal

Dr. Stevens outlines the district鈥檚 leadership pipeline as a continuum, not a program. Aspiring leaders can engage in role-specific academies鈥攍ike the Assistant Principal Academy, Principal Induction Program, and Executive Leadership Cohorts鈥攁ll aligned to the district鈥檚 leadership profile.

"We start with teacher leaders and build upward, so there鈥檚 no gap when a leadership position opens," she explains. "Every step has a support structure."

Mentoring and coaching that鈥檚 built into the job

Greenville County pairs new and aspiring leaders with experienced mentors, not just as an add-on but as part of their professional role.

Dr. Royster stresses, "This is about leadership sustainability. When we coach our people well, we retain them longer and see better outcomes in our schools."

These aren鈥檛 just informal relationships鈥攖hey鈥檙e structured, supported, and aligned to data-informed goals.

Equity and intentionality at the core

The takeaway: Strong systems grow strong leaders

91制片, with support from the Wallace Foundation, produced this series featuring school system strategies that serve to enhance the leadership pipeline.