Lexington, SC (06/07/2021) - During the June 2021 meeting of the Lexington County School District One Board of Trustees approved the promotion of three administrators including Dr. Lucas “Luke” Clamp to secondary school director, Nicole Y. Mitchell to elementary schools director and Dr. Natalie Osborne Smith to leadership development and continuous improvement director.
Dr. Luke Clamp, who currently serves as principal of River Bluff High School, replaces Dr. Thomas E. Rivers Jr., who was named the district’s chief technology and innovation officer.
With 19 years of educational experience, Clamp began his career as a chemistry and environmental science teacher and assistant football and baseball coach at Irmo High School in 2002. He became the dean of studies at Irmo High in 2004, where he developed a curriculum for incoming freshmen, a peer mentoring program, a peer tutoring center and schoolwide staff development.
Clamp joined Lexington County School District One in 2006 as assistant principal at Lexington High School.
He was promoted to principal in 2011 and led the opening of River Bluff High School in 2013. Clamp spent those two years collaboratively planning an innovative student-learning experience within a flexible modular instructional schedule. RBHS partnered with EL Education for the design of professional learning and student engagement.
Under Clamp’s leadership, RBHS earned the designation of South Carolina’s 2019 Palmetto’s Finest High School, awarded to the top high school in the state following an intense evaluation process. The South Carolina Department of Education also rated RBHS as a Palmetto Silver School. The school also received the EL Education Credential for excellence in character development and academic achievement in 2020.
In 2018, the South Carolina Association of School Administrators selected Clamp as the state’s Secondary Principal of the Year. In 2019, the National Association of Secondary School Principals named him National Principal of the Year.
Clamp received his bachelor’s degree in science from Clemson University and his master’s degree, educational specialist degree in educational administration, and doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of South Carolina. He holds certifications as a secondary science teacher, secondary principal and superintendent.
He completed training in the Lexington District One Executive Leadership Program and the S.C. Department of Education’s Aspiring Principals Program. He holds an endorsement for executive leadership from NASSP.
Clamp is a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, NASSP, SCASA, the Palmetto State Teachers Association, and the Rotary Club of Lexington.
Nicole Mitchell replaces Van Bowers, who retires this month, as elementary schools director.
A veteran educator with 25 years of experience, Mitchell began her career in 1995 in Florence School District One as a second-grade teacher. She then taught in Virginia and Georgia for seven years before moving back to South Carolina in 2004.
She taught fourth grade at Joseph Keels Elementary School in Richland School District Two from 2004 to 2007. Then, she moved to Lonnie B. Nelson Elementary School, where she taught fifth grade and served as a writing coach and diversity coach.
In 2008, she transitioned to administration as an assistant principal of Congaree-Wood Early Childhood Center and Herbert A. Wood Elementary School in Lexington School District Two. Mitchell was promoted to principal for the two schools in 2011. She developed and implemented a data-based discipline plan, facilitated staff development for culturally responsive teaching, and improved the teacher evaluation process.
After joining the Lexington District One family in 2016 as the principal of White Knoll Elementary School, Mitchell designed student-focused policies, recruited and hired staff, built community relationships to better engage families in the learning process, and increased professional development. She also led diversity and equity leadership programs.
Under her leadership, WKES achieved status as one of three coding schools in the state and was selected as a Palmetto’s Finest finalist in 2020.
In 2018, Mitchell was named Outstanding Principal of the Year by the South Carolina Art Education Association. In 2020, the district nominated her for the South Carolina Association of School Administrators’ Elementary Principal of the Year award.
Mitchell earned a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from Francis Marion University, a Master of Science in human resource development from Troy State University, and a Master of Education in education leadership from the University of South Carolina. She holds certification in elementary education and elementary principal and supervisor.
Mitchell is a member of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the School Superintendents Association, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the South Carolina Art Education Association.
She also serves as a principal leadership facilitator for Lexington District One, as well as a supervising principal for the University of South Carolina where she oversees student-teachers.
Dr. Natalie Osborne Smith, who currently serves as professional learning coordinator, becomes leadership development and continuous improvement director.
She began her career 20 years ago as an elementary Spanish teacher in Lexington School District Two. She joined Lexington District One in 2003 as a Spanish teacher at Pelion Middle School.
In 2006, she moved to Pleasant Hill Elementary School, where she served as a technology integration specialist. After PHES named her their 2006–2007 Teacher of the Year, she became a district-level Teacher of the Year finalist.
After becoming assistant administrator in 2011, she served both Lexington Middle School and Meadow Glen Middle School for a year.
In 2012, however, a promotion to assistant principal (academic dean) for MGMS led to her work supporting professional learning, managing scheduling and testing, and collaborating to develop the school’s strategic plan. With her support, MGMS earned EL Education credential school and EL Education national mentor school status.
Osborne Smith was a finalist for South Carolina Middle Level Assistant Principal of the Year in 2016 and the EL Education Silverberg Leadership Award in 2017.
In 2018, the district promoted Osborne Smith to professional learning coordinator for the district. She supports the work planning process across all schools, and coordinates professional learning opportunities and graduate credit classes for educators. She also serves on the district’s Reentry Task Force and assisted the technical scheduling team amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Osborne Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts from Presbyterian College, a Master of Education in secondary education and a master’s degree in educational leadership and policies from the University of South Carolina, as well as a Doctorate of Education in education leadership from Concordia University.
She completed the EL Education District Leadership program, the Colonial Life Education Leaders Experience, and the Lexington District One Aspiring Principals Academy.
Osborne Smith is a member of the National Association for Professional Development Schools, the South Carolina Association of School Administrators, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and Learning Forward.
She holds certification in Spanish, elementary and secondary principal, and elementary and secondary supervisor.
