Dr. Edward Anderson is the Executive Director of OnTrack Greenville at the United Way of Greenville County; and former principal in Greenville County. OnTrack Greenville is a community initiative that is designed to keep students on track to high school graduation and post-secondary school success.
He attended the University of South Carolina where he finished with a Bachelor of Arts in Middle Level Education - minoring in English and social studies. After returning to Greenville, he spent the next 12 years as a teacher, followed by district level academic specialist, assistant principal, and principal.
As an administrator, Edward specialized in creating micro-communities which became the topic of several presentations including a 2019 TEDx talk focusing specifically on equitable and trauma-informed ecosystems. He became a mentor for Save Our Sons, Goodwill Good Guides, and secured partnerships with Clemson’s 4H program, Just Say Something, the Urban League of Greenville, and more local organizations. As principal for three years, he helped to redefine and rebrand the image of his school with the tagline: It Takes a Village... leading the school to achieve its first ‘average’ report card rating for two consecutive years.
Edward has spent his entire career leading and working alongside communities and schools of poverty. He knows that poverty is a great barrier to student success, but believes that children of poverty, when met with strategy and intervention, can be as successful and productive as their non-impoverished peers.
Edward currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Trust of South Carolina, aimed at preventing child abuse, neglect, and injury; a member of African American Leadership Greenville, the Young Leaders Society, and co-founder of BOLD Leadership, focused on uplifting the profession of Education, but more specifically on the support of African American male educators.
He currently holds an elementary and secondary endorsement in principalship, a Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction, and a Doctoral Degree in Educational Leadership and Technology. He is kept grounded by his wife, Cassie, who is a special education teacher; and his two sons, Ellison, 7, and Micah, 3.
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