WINDSOR – Dr. Teresa K. Anderson has been tabbed as the new principal at Bertie High School in an announcement made by Bertie County Schools Superintendent Dr. Steven Hill.

Anderson succeeds longtime administrator Calvin Moore, who left the principal’s post last spring. Moore will remain with Bertie County Schools in another capacity.

Anderson comes to Bertie County from St. Cloud, Minnesota where she served as an administrator at St. Cloud 742.  She has been a school administrator since 2007.

Prior to her time in the Great Lake State, Anderson gained much of her experience in the Waukegan Public Schools in Illinois and in the Chicago Public Schools system.

Anderson holds a Doctor of Education (Ed. D) degree in Educational Leadership from Fayetteville State University; a Masters of School Administration from East Carolina University; a Master of Arts in Education from Barat College at DePaul University in Lake Forest, Ill.; and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

She also served in the U.S. Navy for eight years—having worked for a time at the Pentagon—and was an English and Language Arts/Social Studies teacher for several years.

Anderson was raised in Duplin County in Wallace by her grandfather, who served as a principal for 32 years in Robeson County and instilled in her the value of getting a good education and in being a servant to others.

She said that the key to being a good leader in a school setting is building relationships and being transparent.

“I lead with a sense of purpose and with integrity,” Anderson said. “At the end of the day, everything is all about the children.”

Anderson named three initial goals for the beginning of her tenure at Bertie High School: to build relationships with staff, students and the community; to listen to the students and the community; and to create a dialogue about where the school is currently and the direction in which the school needs to move.

She further stated, “We need to analyze multiple points of data—not just end of course test scores—to develop a plan for Bertie High School with sensitivity to all school leaders.

“It’s not my plan,” she said, “It’s our plan.”

Anderson said she looks forward to increased collaboration among the high schools and the community colleges.

“We will fully embrace all the programs that we have in place that work well, and also examine the things that are happening that are not working so well,” she acknowledged. “I look forward to being the guide.”

Anderson said she was attracted to Bertie High because of its mission and vision statements, particularly the goals of achieving excellence and of empowering students to become responsible citizens.

“With the right people on staff and the right leadership, the trajectory of the school will change,” she said.

Bertie High School is a historically low-performing school by state standards and was recently awarded a School Improvement Grant to help better serve its population.

Key components of the grant include: aligning the calendar/schedule with the community college calendars; offering sign-on bonuses and performance based bonuses for attracting and retaining good teachers; providing regular professional development for instructional staff; and in general having more funds and flexibility to work with in order to meet the needs of the students at Bertie High School.

Dr. Hill said, “We are very excited to have Dr. Anderson as the new principal of Bertie High School. We feel that she has the right background and skill set to move this school forward.”

Anderson has two daughters who are in college in both Iowa and Illinois, and she has two miniature poodles—Oreo and Pepper—who will definitely be joining her in Bertie County.