Dr. Nancy J. McGinley has taken her passion for education and her magnetic leadership skills from the schoolhouse to the district level. She now drives the push for educational excellence in Charleston County, South Carolina. Nationally honored for her work at Philadelphia's Abington Junior High School, Dr. McGinley also served for six years in the School District of Philadelphia as a senior advisor to the superintendent and directed the Middle Grades Matter initiative. She served as chief executive officer of the Philadelphia Education Fund, a non-profit organization working with the school system to improve academic achievement. Dr. McGinley is now chief academic officer (CAO) and senior administrator for a historic school district that serves 44,000 students. As CAO, she is in charge of 11 academic departments and provides academic and management leadership to principals and teachers in 80 schools. Reforms in the Charleston Plan for Excellence include a coherent curriculum for literacy, math, science, and social studies, mid-year assessments for students, in-classroom coaching support for teachers, different groupings for children who can be accelerated or who need extra help, and alternative programs for children who are overage or cause classroom disruption.
1976 Temple University, B.A.
