New superintendent says he wants to improve quality of schools, create futures for kids

BENNETTSVILLE — “All of what we do has to be about the academic development of children, so they can become productive members of the community.”

That’s the message Marlboro County School District Superintendent Dr. Frank G. Roberson lives by and wants to impress upon all of those who will listen.

Since being named superintendent July 1, Roberson has spent time meeting with his “strategy team,” principals, business leaders and community groups to share his passion for carrying out the district’s mission of providing high-quality educational opportunities for children that will prepare them for the future.

Roberson said he knows how important it is to have an education and the impact it has on not only the person, but also the community and local economy.

Being called to serve as an educator

Roberson, who’s the youngest of 11 children, grew up in the old Storm Branch community of Aiken.

Roberson said his family was extremely poor, but he didn’t know it until he went to college.

His mother was a domestic worker cleaning houses for a living and his father worked in the local mill.

During his sophomore year in high school, Roberson said, he started to gain an interest in teaching because he was inspired by several teachers he had encountered.

Roberson is a product of public schools, having graduated from Langley-Bath-Clearwater High School in Aiken County.

While Roberson also had interests in becoming a lawyer and an architect, it was the teaching profession that prevailed.

In 1978, Roberson earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Paine College in Augusta, Ga. He earned a Master of Education in educational administration and a Doctor of Philosophy in educational leadership and policy both from the University of South Carolina.

He began his career as a substitute teacher. After the first year, Roberson said, he knew he’d made the right choice.

During his more than 30 years of educational service, Roberson has been an Upward Bound pre-college instructor, a history teacher, principal, assistant superintendent for instructional services and interim superintendent.

In 2007, Roberson became an entrepreneur and started The Roberson Group, an education consulting and leadership development company dedicated to helping improve schools and school leadership in poor performing schools and districts in South Carolina and Georgia.

“I have a huge fascination with teaching those who appear not to be teachable,” Roberson said. “I see that as the strength of the system.

“I think to be an effective educational leader, you have to be beyond just managing. You have to be in a position to inspire,” he said. “I get my greatest energy from accomplishing things that are challenging. It’s, to me, motivating to be able to come into the middle of something and be able to bring all the pieces together for the good of the children,” he said.

Goals for the district

Roberson said he wants to improve the quality of schools in the district, which would in turn help improve the local economy.

Roberson has several ideas in the works, including having every school in the district become a magnet school.

He also wants to work on the dropout rate, college readiness initiatives, and to ensure students are reading at the appropriate grade level as well as being aggressive at securing funding and partnering with local businesses.

During his spare time, Roberson said, he enjoys playing traditional gospel music, conducting research, reading and writing as well as building houses. He has written several commentaries and is the author of at least seven books.

Roberson and his wife, Doris, have two daughters: Ashley, a high school English teacher, and Lauren, an education major.

— Staff writer Shireese M. Bell can be reached at (843) 317-7261.