Roberson elected as new Marlboro Co. superintendent

Longtime Aiken educator Dr. Frank Roberson has been named superintendent of schools in the school district of Marlboro County.

On Wednesday, by an 8-1 vote, the Marlboro County school board selected Roberson to lead the district beginning with the 2009-10 school year, according to the district.

Board Chairman John McInnis cast the only opposing vote in the selection of Roberson.

"I fully intend to support Dr. Roberson as our new superintendent," McInnis said. "I am sold on his qualifications. I guess I'm just from the old school, but I am concerned that his family will not be moving here with him. I am a banker, and in the banking business when you take a job, you live in the community."

Roberson emerged as the top candidate from among 40 applicants in a national search conducted by the South Carolina School Boards Association. The selection of Roberson came after two very comprehensive interviews with the Marlboro County Board of Education, a full day of interviews with district administrators, principals, teachers and the community in a public forum.

Roberson is presently an educational consultant, evaluator and entrepreneur with The Roberson Group, an educational improvement group in North Augusta that works to improve schools and school leadership in poor performing schools and districts in South Carolina and Georgia. He will officially arrive in Bennettsville on July 14.

He has more than 30 years of experience in education, most of it in Aiken County public schools, serving most recently as associate superintendent for instruction, principal, assistant principal and a teacher.

His passion for education drove him back to school administration, as he missed the day-to-day interaction with students, the school staff and the community, according to Roberson.

In his meetings, Roberson shared his ideas with the board and the community, which included the creation of a number of magnet schools, school turnaround methods, student engagement, closing the achievement gap, parental support and involvement, data-driven decisions, school-based leadership, strategy sessions, dropout prevention, smart budgeting and fiscal management, reallocation of resources for more effective and efficient use, program evaluation and results-based analysis, according to a press release.

Dr. Roberson graduated from Paine College in Augusta in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. He earned a Master of Education degree in education administration in 1985 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in educational leadership and policy in 1992, both from the University of South Carolina.