Final two candidates for DCSD post visit district, community
By Melissa Rollins, Editor, editor@newsandpress.net
The final two candidates for Darlington County School District Superintendent visited the district Monday, spending time talking with local media, community members and district personnel. Like the two candidates who visited before them, Dr. Tim Newman and Dr. Chandar Anderson discussed topics such as what they could bring to the district and what attracted them to the position.
Dr. Tim Newman 
Dr. Tim Newman currently serves as superintendent of Orangeburg Consolidated District 4. In January, Newman was named one of three finalists for the superintendency of the York II- Clover School District. According to the Times and Democrat of Orangeburg, part of Newman’s interest in the career change was the consolidation of Orangeburg’s three school districts which is set to begin in 2019.
Before getting in to education, Newman worked in retail and was involved with technology systems dealing with budgets and inventory. Newman said that having a background in technology he understands the important role it plays in education.
“Once I got into education, I was involved as a technology coordinator in our school and then, eventually, in Pickens County Schools, I was the Executive Director of Technology,” Newman said. “I helped to implement technology throughout the district and I also helped design the new schools…Technology is a game changer for our kids. My three-year-old granddaughter now knows how to get on the iPhone and find the apps that she wants to use that are actually educational apps. I don’t think that we can ignore the fact that our kids automatically migrate to technology. It is something that they feel comfortable with. I think we need to meet them in ways that can help them be successful in their education with technology.”
Newman said that although Darlington County School District is more than double the size of the district he is in now, there are many similarities.
“In Orangeburg Consolidated District 4, our demographics are very similar and our schools are very similar; we have some smaller schools in smaller communities and then we have some larger schools,” Newman said. “We have some very high-performing schools and then we have some that struggle. (I was attracted) to the professional challenge of a larger school district. Darlington County School District is about twice the size of where I am now so from a professional standpoint I like the challenge.”
Community plays a large role in educating students, Newman said.
“One of my primary goals in the district that I’m in, and it’s my primary goal wherever I am, is community,” Newman said. “Inside the building it is about how we interact with each other, how we help and support each other, how we can get together as faculties and staff to do community services projects and give back, connecting with the communities that our schools are in. Of course, outside of our buildings, it is how to we get out to where our families are. That might mean standing outside a grocery store giving out water or it may be having a movie night with a big blowup screen in the parking lot and inviting people to a free movie night; it may be me speaking at the Chamber of Commerce or Rotary Club interacting with our businesses. There are so many things that we can do to connect our community with our schools.”
Chandar Anderson 
Dr. Chandar Anderson is currently the Assistant Superintendent for Personnel in Chesterfield County. Anderson previously served in neighboring Florence School District One as principal of both Savannah Grove Elementary School and the R.N. Beck Learning Center.
Anderson said that there were two reasons that he decided to apply for the superintendent position in Darlington County.
“First of all, I’m familiar with the county growing up in a neighboring county, Florence,” Anderson said. “I remember playing basketball and playing against St. John’s back then, Mayo High School, Hartsville High School. I made a lot of friends with individuals in Darlington. I also spent some time when the races were going on, I’d work there on the weekends as a teenager, so I am very familiar with the Darlington area. I’ve worked at two districts and Darlington right in the middle so I am very familiar with what’s going on in education and a lot of different issues too so it won’t be anything foreign. The second reason is because when I looked at the stakeholder feeedback, in regards to the attributes that they were looking for in a superintendent, I took those attributes, compared them to who I am as a leader and as a person and the work that I’ve done professionally and its a perfect fit.”
Some things that Anderson said he would bring to DCSD include his experience working to create a good environment for teachers and students.
“Working strongly with the retention and the recruitment of teachers, I’ve done that and I’ve been doing that for a while,” Anderson said. “I’m really strong and really enjoy working on student achievement. I was a principal for nine years and student achievement has always been a priority for me; making sure that our students are prepared. Those things are vital to me and they are basic needs for all of our students, regardless of location.”
Having worked at all levels of education, Anderson said that he can lead by example.
“The first thing that I would bring is a strong sense of leadership,” Anderson said. “My strength is in teaching, leading and coaching, not just on the basketball court but in education. So bringing that strong leadership, coaching our principals, coaching our district staff, making sure that our vision is clear, making sure that we are aligning all of our resources to achieve that vision, that’s what I can bring; it’ll take some time but it can happen.”
Anderson was asked what he would like to accomplish first should he be hired as DCSD superintendent. His priorities included ensuring district safety and reaching out to the community.
“I want to make sure that the community is updated on what we’re doing, where we are in regards to our goals and, more importantly, I want to make sure that I am in front of our community, our parents, business owners and so forth,” Anderson said. “I want to make sure that I am in front of them so that they can ask me questions and so they can help me with solutions.”
