• HOME
  • FEATURES
    • Best Of Cover Shoot
    • Pet Owner’s Stories
    • People
    • Places
    • Issues
    • Remembering
    • Things
    • To Do
  • DEPARTMENTS
    • Finance / Real Estate
      • Financial Articles
      • Top 10 Most Expensive Homes Sold
      • Real Estate
        • Real Estate Experts
        • Articles
    • Attorney Directory
    • Ask the Experts
    • Business
      • Belle Hall Shopping Center
      • Lowcountry Women in Business
      • MP Business
    • Entertainment
      • Golf
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Food & Drink
    • Giving Back
    • Health & Wellness
      • COVID-19 Articles & Resources
    • House & Home
    • Learning
      • Wando High School
    • Love & Marriage
    • Pets
    • Relax & Retire
  • Read Magazine
  • MORE MAGS
    • Charleston Women 👩‍🏫🏢
    • Lowcountry Cuisine 🧀🍷
    • Best of Mt Pleasant Mag 🏆🏆
    • Charleston Women in Real Estate 👩🏘️
    • MP Business Mag 🏢
    • MP Pets 🐶🐱
    • Charleston Independent School Directory 🏫
    • MP Senior Living 👴👵
    • More Mags
      • IOP Mag
      • SI Mag
      • MP Town Hall Magazine
  • OUR TOWN
    • MP Town Hall
    • MP Town Council
  • DIRECTORIES
    • East Cooper Church Directory
    • East Cooper Fitness Directory
    • Local 2019 CPA Tax Directory
    • Mount Pleasant Apartment Directory
  • SUBSCRIBE

Mount Pleasant Magazine

Mount Pleasant Magazine (Mount Pleasant, SC) informs residents and visitors about people, places and happenings around our area.

Vote in Charleston's Best in Health
  • Best of Mount Pleasant
    • Best Of Winner Articles
    • Best Of Results Current & Past
    • Best Of Winner Articles
    • Best Of Magazines
    • Best Of Videos
    • Best Of Party Photos
    • Best Of Plaques
  • Podcast
  • Local Events
  • Our Winners
  • Advertise
    • Advertise With Us
    • Media Kit
    • Video Testimonials
  • MORE
    • MP Neighborhoods
    • East Cooper Online Network
    • Real Estate Experts
    • Attorney Directory
    • News
    • Contact

A Steward of “Learning by the Sea”: Susan King

Posted by MPM 1 Comment

Susan King took an indirect route from Vir- ginia Beach to Mount Pleasant. She’s now in her 10th year as principal of Sullivan’s Island Elementary School.
Ground was broken on the new Sullivan’s Island Elementary School in January 2013. Drawing courtesy of Cummings & McCrady, Inc. Architects.

Some things just make sense. Sullivan’s Island Elementary School Principal Susan King has science running through her veins. As SIE prepares for another year as a science/ math/coastal environment partial magnet school, King is well-equipped to lead its teachers and students.

King’s father, Mac Rawls, was a science teacher in her hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and she often would accompany him on field trips to the Chesapeake Bay, a coastal area not unlike the Lowcountry.

“We would go on seine trips, study the salt marsh, learn about pollution and other things that impact the environment,” she remembered.

King took an indirect route to Charleston County, graduating from Virginia Tech and teaching science – what else? – in Virginia Beach for 10 years. She did the same in Lima, Peru, for a year before returning to the United States to earn her master’s in Leadership and Administration at the University of Virginia.

From there she ventured south to take a job as an assistant principal in Miami. In the spring, she completed her ninth year as principal at Sullivan’s Island Elementary School. She has fond memories of her first year on the job, for obvious reasons.

“The very first year I was principal, I was expecting John Daniel,” she said.

Now her daughter, Julie, has graduated and John Daniel, her son, will be in the third grade. King and her family live in Snee Farm.

King’s current kindergarteners through fifth graders at Sullivan’s Island Elementary, who will return to a brand new building on the beach in August 2014, have the good fortune to participate in learning experiences similar to the ones King and her father shared when she was a child. She and her staff use the environment in their own backyard as a teaching laboratory. How many other schools have a calendar that includes “Sand Castle Day”? In fact, the school’s vision statement is: “To create inquiry based learners equipped with the skills to explore and contribute as stewards of the Earth and environment.”

King’s work continues long after her students leave for their summer break. She and School Project Architect Jerry English recently attended the Learning Environments for Tomorrow program, offered at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, with support from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. The course, for educators, designers and architects, was all about collaboration.

“We are expecting children to be problem solvers. We invite students to be creative,” King explained.

In addition, King and Amy Cario, the principal at St. Andrew’s School of Math and Science, were selected to participate in the Safari Club International Environmental Workshop for Education Leaders this July in Wyoming.

“The two schools are looking forward to working together on many initiatives, including professional development for teachers,” said King. “I believe in the importance of providing hands-on engagement while using the outdoors as a classroom.” And with 26 years of experience in education under her belt, King is the ideal person to foster the changes that have taken place at her school. After it was determined that SIE and four other Charleston County Schools wouldn’t survive an earthquake, Sullivan’s Island Elementary was moved to the former Whitesides Elementary facility on Rifle Range Road in Mount Pleasant at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. Ground was broken for a new, 74,000-square-foot school on the beach in January of this year. The new SIE will be able to accommodate 500 students in a building that will include project labs, a media center, an art room, computer labs and 24 classrooms, according to the Charleston County School District’s website.

Being outside always been an easy sell for King because of her childhood, professional experience and love of nature. In her spare time, she enjoys camping, photography and “really anything outdoors.”

It all truly makes sense for this good steward of “learning by the sea.”

 

Story and photos by Helen Ravenel Hammond.

Sharing is Caring

Possibly Related:

No related posts.

Filed Under: People Tagged With: July-Aug 2013

Comments

  1. Mark Mitchell says

    July 18, 2013 at 7:41 pm

    Truly a Lowcountry gem! How can we get more like her in Charleston County. Thank goodness the residents of Sullivans Island have the good sense to bring this school back to the island!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search the Site


We're on Facebook We're on Twitter Mount Pleasant Magazine Youtube Channel We're on Pinterest Mount Pleasant Magazine Facebook Community We're on Instagram
READ ONLINE
Read the digital magazine now.
GRAB A COPY
Where can I pick up a copy of Mount Pleasant Magazine?
GRAB A COPY
At Welcome Centers & Airports
SUBSCRIBE
Get Mount Pleasant Magazine Delivered.
Pamper your pets at Hairy Winston Pet Boutique and Grocery!
Ascue’s Auto Body & Paint Shop, serving East of the Cooper for 50 years
Enter your pet in the East Cooper Favorite Pets Photo Contest
Read Charleston Women Magazine online now.
Mount Pleasant's ONLY source for everything PETS!


Online Magazines

Mount Pleasant

Lifestyle Magazine

Read Isle of Palms

Magazine Online

Read Sullivan's Island

Magazine Online

Take a Bite

Lowcountry Cuisine Magazine

Georgetown, SC. Yummy Day Trips
Isle of Palms Magazine - family of sites logo
Mount Pleasant Magazine - family of sites logo
North Mount Pleasant Magazine - family of sites logo
Sullivan's Island Magazine - family of sites logo

Recent Posts

Rebuilding the Crab Bank

A Collaborative Conservation Effort to Help Revitalize Critical Mount Pleasant Seabird Rookery By Colin McCandless Captain Chris Crolley first became familiar with Crab Bank island in 1992, … Continue Reading

Mount Pleasant Way Will Offer Safe, Equitable Transportation

By Pamela Jouan The appeal of Mount Pleasant from a biker or walker’s perspective is obvious: temperate weather, meandering marshes, sprawling live oaks and an abundance of native … Continue Reading

Daniel Island Section

Keeping the Dream of Playing Tennis Alive: The South Carolina Junior Tennis Foundation

Since 1973, South Carolina’s Lowcountry has welcomed players from the Women’s Tennis Association once a year for the annual Volvo Car Open, North America’s largest women-only tennis tournament. … Continue Reading

Truly One-of-a-kind: 369 Ralston Creek Drive

Big cities certainly have advantages – culture, dining, employment opportunities and excitement. But face it: Sometimes people yearn for a peaceful, serene atmosphere where they can relax, raise a … Continue Reading

More Daniel Island Section Posts

SEARCH

Featured Pages

Mount Pleasant Apartments
East Cooper Online Network

Copyright © 2021 · Mount Pleasant Magazine, All Rights Reserved. Advertise With Us.