Wendy Burgess, Team Lead for Early Learning at the South Carolina Department of Education, has been selected for the inaugural National Association of State Leaders in Early Education (NASLEE) Leadership Academy. She is one of only eight Early Education Leaders selected from around the country.
Burgess was selected from a competitive pool for the 12-month executive leadership program tailored to state early education administrators. The goal of the academy is to increase leadership and organizational capacity of state early education leaders to implement effective early education programs and policy.
The selected state early educations leaders will increase their knowledge and competencies in various dimensions of leadership, and then use those skills to implement policy more effectively in their home states.
“We were thrilled with the number of accomplished applicants in our very first year,” said Lori Connors-Tadros, Ph.D., who will lead the academy. Connors-Tadros has a long and distinguished career in early education state policy and serves as a senior research fellow at the National Institute for Early Education Research.
Participants come from state departments of education in Alabama, Colorado, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey and South Carolina.
Burgess serves as the Team Lead for Early Learning in the Office of Early Learning and Literacy at the South Carolina Department of Education where she is responsible for the implementation of publicly funded four-year-old prekindergarten.
The scope of her duties includes leading, coordinating, and supporting all aspects of early learning, professional development targeted to specific audiences which models the use of evidence-based practices, and state PreK expansion and program improvement.
Burgess, a 27 year veteran educator, brings to the table an intense instructional background as a teacher, interventionist, reading specialist, and reading coach.
During her tenure, Burgess earned her National Board Certification as an Early Childhood Generalist. She holds two Clemson University Master’s Degrees. The first master’s degree is in Special Education with a focus on learning disabilities and the second is a master’s degree in Supervision and Administration.
“I am fortunate to have been selected for the first class of the NASLEE Leadership Academy. I look forward to connecting with other early education leaders from around the country, building my leadership skills and bringing those skills to help implement effective policies in South Carolina,” Burgess said.
Burgess is a Williamston resident and also serves on the Anderson School District 1 Board of Trustees.
