Pickens School Board Selects New Superintendent

The Pickens County school board unanimously selected a new superintendent at its board meeting Monday night.

Dr. Kelly Pew was chosen to replace outgoing Superintendent, Dr. Henry Hunt, who is retiring at the end of June. Pew has served as the school district's Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services since last May and previously served as the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources for three years.

"I appreciate the board's confidence in me as the school district's new leader," Pew said. "I have thoroughly enjoyed working with our students, teachers, support staff and administrators over the last three and a half years and am excited to continue in a different role."

Pew said her mother and grandmother both graduated from Easley High School and understands the importance of education in Pickens County.

"I am passionate about the children our school district serves," she said. "And we are fortunate to have quality, dedicated personnel working with them every day."

She further stated that the importance of each employee within the school district is a huge factor in providing students with the educational needs they deserve.

"Each employee is important as we pursue our goal of providing all students from K4-12th (grade) with a rigorous, relevant education program that will prepare them to reach their individual life goals for college and careers. We will continue the curriculum initiatives that teachers have worked on including preparing for the common core state standards and implementing technology in our classrooms. In addition, we will continue preparing our students for our ever-changing world by providing quality education in all of our classrooms."

Pew began her career as a teacher at Chapman High School in 1991, She also taught at McDuffie and T.L. Hanna high schools in Anderson before becoming an administrator at Seneca High School, Seneca Middle School and Wren High School's Freshman Academy. Since 2003, she has also served as an adjunct professor at Southern Wesleyan University.

Pew graduated from Clemson University in 1991 and earned a Master's Degree from Furman University in 1997. She earned a Ph.D from Clemson in 2002.