Horry County Schools' Postlewait named Superintendent of the Year
September 19, 2005

Horry County Schools' Superintendent Gerrita Postlewait has been named Superintendent of the Year by the South Carolina Association of School Administrators (SCASA). Postlewait will represent South Carolina in the National Superintendent of the Year competition. 

Postlewait has served as the superintendent for Horry County Schools since 1996. Postlewait is currently president of the South Carolina school superintendents' group and was selected as a member of the governing board of the American Association of School Administrators. She also serves on several state and national committees, including the Governor's Council for Economic Competitiveness, the Education Oversight Committee's Common Ground initiative, the Superintendency Institute of America, and as a superintendent representative on a national panel for the federal No Child Left Behind law.
 
Other awards Postlewait has received include distinction as a Fellow of the National Effective Schools Institute; designation as the Superintendent of the Year by the South Carolina Athletic Administrators Association (2000), the South Carolina Music Educators Association (2000), the South Carolina School Boards Association (2001); and she received the exemplary service award from the South Carolina Association of Teacher Educators (2003).

Upon learning that she had been named the Superintendent of the Year, Postlewait expressed the honor she felt in representing the superintendents of South Carolina's public schools.

"Being selected to represent the high professional standards and impressive track record of the State's school superintendents is an humbling experience.  Credit for this recognition belongs to the teachers, staff and Board members of Horry County Schools and to the influence that faith, family, teachers, and friends have had on my life," Postlewait said.
 
Under Postlewait's leadership, Horry County Schools has become one of the fastest improving and strongest performing school districts in the state. The District consistently outperforms the state on all state assessments and has topped the national average on the SAT and International Baccalaureate graduation. Horry County Schools had almost twice as many schools as any other district that earned honors from the Education Oversight Committee for closing the achievement gap for all students. The District met 100 percent of its goals for Adequate Yearly Progress as defined by No Child Left Behind and 89 percent of schools were rated "Excellent" or "Good" on the State Report Card. 
 
The National Superintendent of the Year program, established in 1988 and co-sponsored by ARAMARK Education, honors school administrators based on the following criteria: leadership for learning, communication skills, professionalism, and community involvement. 

The fifty state Superintendents of the Year, as well as the four national finalists and the National Superintendent of the Year, are recognized at the AASA (American Association of School Administrators) National Conference on Education, to be held February, 2006, in San Diego. Finalists receive cash awards and medallions. The National Superintendent of the Year presents a $10,000 scholarship to a deserving student from his or her high school alma mater. 
 
The South Carolina Association of School Administrators is the professional organization for educational leaders in our state. Headquartered in Columbia, SCASA is a non-profit organization composed of eight divisions with a membership of over 2,800.  SCASA's primary missions are professional development, interaction for its members and advocacy for public education.