CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – Of the recent high-level departures from the Charleston County School District, none leave with as much experience in the organization as Jennifer Coker.
Her tenure with the district spanned 21 years and saw her in a number of leadership positions climbing the ladder until she rose to become the executive director of the Department of Alternative Programs and Services.
Coker announced her retirement last Thursday and is expected to officially leave her position at the end of the month.
The position came with the challenge of overseeing some of the most difficult students and tasked her with not only educating them but setting them up for success after high school. The most notable schools under her care have notoriously been Liberty Hill Academy and Daniel Jenkins Academy which have seen a bevy of violent incidents towards staff at the hands of students.
To Coker’s credit, the challenges at Daniel Jenkins are nothing she would not put herself through. Coker says she spent five years as the principal of the school, restoring more than100 students back to their home school. While there, she says they completed a “meaningful instructional program for students in the Juvenile Detention Center”.
Before that, she served as the principal of West Ashley Middle School.
“The school’s report card rating went from ‘At Risk’ in 2006 to ‘Average’ in 2009, an improvement of two levels under that system,” Coker said.
As the head of the district’s alternative programs, Coker had her hand in almost all of the programs aimed at helping students and addressing behavior. Coker says some her achievements include implementing a restorative practices framework that is now being implemented in 35 schools and initiating several task forces aimed at addressing issues like bullying.
Most recently and, perhaps most successfully, Coker found herself championing the district’s effort to address the mental health of students. She established a partnership with the Department of Mental Health to increase mental health services by 300% in six years and led the effort to supply calming kits and calming rooms to any school that wants them. She also launched the district’s art therapy program and took on the effort to develop and lead the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund III effort centered on wrap-around services.
Coker also lists securing a Project Prevent Grant among her top achievements. The grant provides $5 million to support seven North Charleston Schools.
“Throughout my tenure, no matter the role, developing leaders and encouraging people to see beyond their current position has been an honor,” Coker said. “Again, there are too many individuals to mention, but I hope they know impacted me far more than I could ever impact them.”
With her retirement, the Department of Alternative Programs and Services is expected to be reorganized. The details on what that means are still being finalized.
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