Strong principals typically are seasoned administrators. Moore didn’t have any experience as a principal, but she had a passion for Sanders-Clyde. She grew up in Atlanta and moved here for a College of Charleston minority fellowship to earn her master’s in education.
Moore taught at Sanders-Clyde for four years before moving up to a lead teacher position. She left Sanders-Clyde to work as a master teacher, and for the next few years, she helped low-performing schools across the district improve.
When Sanders-Clyde’s principal retired, Moore applied for the job. Even when she was a teacher at Sanders-Clyde, she knew she wanted to be its principal. It was a small, 200-student school, and she felt connected to the parents and community. She understood what it would take to help its children. It was the only school where she applied for a principal job.
By most every measure, Sanders-Clyde was struggling in 2003 when Moore became its leader.
It was so bad that more than 60 percent of its students weren’t ready for the next grade in English and math. None of its students scored at the highest possible level on the state’s standardized tests.
Its student enrollment dwindled as families abandoned the school. All but a few of Moore’s students lived in nearby government-funded housing.
Despite those challenges, Moore refused to accept that her students couldn’t score as well as the wealthier ones across the Cooper River.