Former Clarendon & Williamsburg superintendent passes away

CLARENDON CO., S.C. (WOLO) – A former superintendent who made history in South Carolina has recently passed away.

The State Department of Education says in 1994, Dr. Rose Wilder became the first Black female superintendent in the state since Reconstruction, when she served as superintendent for Clarendon County School District 2.

She also served as superintendent for Clarendon County School District 1 and the Williamsburg County School District.

In a Facebook post on Clarendon County School District’s page, Dr. Wilder has an elementary school in Summerton named after her in her honor.

State Superintendent Molly Spearman says Dr. Wilder was “a dear friend, pioneer, mentor and legend in South Carolina.”

In April 2018, Spearman chose her to run the Williamsburg School District and says she oversaw the successful transformation of the district’s finances, special education services and academic improvements, after it was declared a state of emergency by the state Department of Education.

Clarendon School District says funeral arrangements are still being worked on.