ORANGEBURG S.C. – OCSD Board Member Idella Carson was one of seven board members hailing from seven different school districts across the state to earn Level Six recognition in the Boardmanship Institute (BI) sponsored by the South Carolina School Boards Association (SCSBA). It is the highest level of distinction for school board training.

Mrs. Carson served as an elected member of the Orangeburg Consolidated School District Five Board from 2013 to 2018. She was then elected to the Orangeburg County School District Board in November 2018. As an educator and administrator for over 45 years in Orangeburg County, she has dedicated her life to molding and shaping young minds into productive citizens. She believes that to fulfill the dreams of our students for the next century, we must design innovative educational programs to meet the needs of ALL students.

Mrs. Carson is an Adjunct Professor at South Carolina State University, training and teaching future students to become Professional Teachers.
 
She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Claflin College and a Master of Education plus 30 hours from South Carolina State University. She attended several institutions and seminars, including the African American History Symposium at Lincoln University in Oxford, PA, Advanced Placement Government at the University of South Carolina, the Robert A. Taft Institute and Strom Thurmond Institute at Clemson University, and workshops at the University of Virginia. One of her most rewarding recognitions as an educator, she was one of two teachers from South Carolina (all-expense paid) to attend the Inauguration of President Clinton in 1993.

Mrs. Carson is a Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. member, Phi Delta Kappa, La Charms Club, NAACP, Eastern Star, and Warren Chapel Baptist Church. She was married to the late John (Pookey) Carson and is the proud mother of two sons, Terrence and Torez, and two grandchildren, Taylor and Matthew.

Mrs. Carson, as well as board members Rosey Anderson of Barnwell School District 45; Beverly Bonaparte of Bamberg County School District; Anne Marie Green of Lexington County School District One; Christina Gwozdz of Beaufort County School District; Maria-Helena Miller of Rock Hill Schools (York Three); and Kristy Spears of Fort Mill Schools (York Four) received a Level Six pin and plaque at SCSBA’s Annual Convention recently held Feb. 17-19 in Hilton Head.

Established in May 1982, SCSBA’s BI offers a year-round training program to help school board members better understand and more effectively act upon issues related to governance for their local schools. Training is required by state law only for new school board members.

The South Carolina School Boards Association is a non-profit organization serving as a statewide
voice for boards governing the state’s 73 school districts.