WADESBORO — An Anson County native is bringing her diverse education background to Scotland County as she begins her new role as the district’s superintendent.
The Scotland County Board of Education announced Takeda LeGrand as the new superintendent on Nov. 22 and she took her position on the first of 2021.
LeGrand was born and raised in Wadesboro, graduated from Anson High School in 1999 and started her teaching career back in Anson.
After graduating from UNC Greensboro, she returned home to Anson County with the hopes of working with a nurse ministry program as a health educator at the Anson Community Hospital after she interned with their church program. The program was responsible for going out into the community to try and improve the quality and outcome of rural healthcare.
But the program’s requested grant to expand the program had not come through by the time she was ready to work.
“As a college graduate — student loan debt pending, I was a new mom at the time, returned home — I needed work,” LeGrand said. “A friend of mine shared that there was an opening at the high school in family consumer science.”
The need for an income pushed her to apply for the job, plus LeGrand was familiar with family consumer science because she participated in it as a student.
Her plan was to work until the grant for the nurse ministry program became available, but LeGrand was asked during her interview if she could commit to two years of teaching.
Of course, the grant came through on her first day of the job, but she had to respectfully decline the nurse ministry program because she gave her word that she would work two years at the high school. Luckily, she was able to work part time as a health educator while still working at Anson High School.
“As I began getting into education, I loved the impact of teaching and learning,” LeGrand said. “But then I started thinking about what’s next for my career?”
She knew working in the small district of Anson that promotional opportunities were far and few. LeGrand wanted to keep growing and learning so she moved to the Union County School District where she started as a career development coordinator. She helped connect students to apprenticeships, internships, job shadowing and giving them access to guidance tools.
LeGrand then moved to working with curriculum while going back to school to receive a doctorate in curriculum instruction.
“Union County was one of the fastest growing counties in the state at that time,” LeGrand said. “We were rolling out local curriculum, working with courses and I was loving that work. I was growing myself professionally.”
A mentor informed LeGrand that she could receive a masters in school administration to propel her even further in her career, which she believes was the best decision she ever made.
After receiving her masters, she moved on to Richmond County and served as an assistant principal while still finishing her doctorate.
She finally returned home to Anson to work on a school improvement grant after her dissertation mentor told her about the position.
“It was straight teaching and learning all day, everyday,” LeGrand said. “I would go into the classroom…give feedback, coach teachers with the immediate descriptive feedback and model lessons, give them tools and resources to be successful.”
LeGrand was again contacted about a position opening at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction for a consulting position.
While working with DPI in Raleigh, LeGrand was commuting frequently to Anson County to help take care of her ill mother-in-law. Her husband and her decided it would be best to move back home.
“We relocated back to the area living in Wingate,” LeGrand said. “I was able to land a job with Montgomery County Schools which was fantastic! I grew so much in leadership, worked with the community…within the past year my superintendent looked at me and said, ‘It’s time for you to fly.’ so I landed here in Scotland County Schools as their superintendent of schools.”
She worked with Montgomery County Schools for seven years and was promoted three times will there. LeGrand’s last position was Deputy Superintendent for Administrative Services.
In her role now as the superintendent for Scotland County Schools, she has the added responsibility of working with the school board and playing a key role in virtually every decision made in the district.
Starting her position in the middle of a pandemic is exciting for LeGrand. Her first 100-day plan falls right before creating a five year strategic plan for the district. She thinks it is the perfect time to transition to the position as new plans will be rolled out.
“Educators adjust their lesson plans everyday for their students’ needs,” LeGrand said. “And our students’ needs are just a little different right now.”
LeGrand’s 100-day plan includes a listening and learning tool where she will meet with stakeholders, elected officials, students, parents, staff, school board members, clubs and organizations to learn about the community. She wants to hear both what the district is doing well and what blind spots the district might have so she can then have this data reflected in the five year strategic plan.
Her needs assessment plan includes six areas: governance, primary function, community engagement, operations and safety, culture and climate.
“I think the biggest challenge is the day-to-day changes with COVID-19 and the impact that’s having on our community,” LeGrand said. “We are a community school district where a lot that goes on in the community is directly connected to the schools…because of that we are having to adjust daily as well based on what is going in the community with the spread of COVID-19.”
LeGrand wants to collaborate with the community to best increase opportunities for all students. She believes this is the perfect place for her to lead. Her diverse background prepared her for this role, giving her a unique opportunity to implement everything she’s learned into one place.
“I often say I learned to teach in Anson County,” LeGrand said. “I learned curriculum development in Union County. Richmond County taught me administration. Montgomery County taught me the governance and community engagement piece of maximizing student outcomes. DTI taught me the political aspect of education and strategic leadership.”
She credits growing up in Anson County for helping shape who she is today with her work ethic, high expectations, opportunity, respect and equity. These qualities were modeled in her home, schools, church and in the Anson community. LeGrand believes the support from Anson throughout her years prepared her for this role.