ASCD President Valerie Truesdale accepted the gavel from Immediate Past President Nancy DeFord at the 2008 Annual Conference in New Orleans, La., in March.
By building on ASCD's many accomplishments, President Valerie Truesdale plans to move the Association from success to significance. Truesdale also envisions expanding ASCD's global reach. "I would love for us to be a truly international organization," says Truesdale, who believes strongly in the power of technology to connect educators around the world.
Truesdale also sees great potential for ASCD members to work together to help one another solve crucial education problems. "We're all trying to do a better job. Why not pool our thinking? There are challenges that we have, but someone has solved them somewhere," says Truesdale. "Maybe there's an opportunity through the connected communities or through the online dialogues where we can actually get into real service on a grassroots level."
Throughout her career, Truesdale has worked to bring people together to learn from one another. Now, as a superintendent, she listens to her teachers and works to develop solutions that will create the best opportunities for students. Truesdale brings that same dedication and commitment to her position as ASCD President.
Although Truesdale has always been passionate about education, she was not always an educator. After graduating from Clemson University with a bachelor's degree in secondary education, Truesdale looked forward to teaching high school English but was not able to find a teaching position. So, despite her desire to inspire young minds, Truesdale temporarily deferred her dream.
Not to be discouraged, she employed her leadership and communications skills at JCPenney Company for several years, where she gained her first professional experience in managing budgets, supervising and training staff, and planning and implementing large-scale projects and campaigns—skills that she would use throughout her career as a teacher and administrator.
While with JCPenney, the energetic Truesdale also worked toward a master's degree at Georgia State University. Earning the degree has had a lasting effect on her career. "Of all my degrees and my postgraduate work, the MBA prepared me the most to do what I do as a leader of the school system," says Truesdale. She also earned a doctorate in educational administration from the University of South Carolina. Truesdale went on to teach various subjects, including marketing, business administration, and, finally, high school English. She rose through the ranks as an administrator, working on the district and state levels.
Now, as the superintendent for Beaufort County School District, Truesdale tackles complex issues with great optimism and enthusiasm. The rural school district is located in the southeastern region of South Carolina and has close to 20,000 students in almost 30 schools. Beaufort's schools are extremely diverse, boasting a 52 percent minority population that includes a large number of immigrant students. And the majority of the students live in poverty. Truesdale's district is also vast, covering close to 650 square miles, including 60 small islands. In fact, one of the district's school buses is actually a ferry. But when asked if she faces great challenges, Truesdale just laughs and says, "Yes, but that's OK. Everybody does." As she notes, educators everywhere must overcome difficult obstacles when striving to educate the whole child.
Much of Truesdale's success as an administrator is the result of her past experiences, especially her time as a teacher. "I meet with teachers whenever I'm in schools. I make sure that we're listening to teachers' voices," she says. "We work really hard to make sure that teachers are involved in every decision that affects them before the decision is made because, as a teacher, I always hated that folks made decisions about my classroom when they had never been in my classroom." For Truesdale, collaboration and communication are the true keys to success.
Truesdale brings that same collaborative spirit to ASCD. And she looks forward to working on ASCD's many priorities and driving forward the important message about educating the whole child. "The Whole Child Commission pointed out that children are complex beings—they are not single, flat test scores. We have to drive the dialogue," says Truesdale. "We are the teachers. We have to drive the message about what's good for children in terms of their development. We know what works."
