Beaufort Middle School principal Carole Ingram — once judged SC’s finest — retiring

When Beaufort Middle School principal Carole Ingram’s husband, Craig, passed away in May last year after a painful yet mercifully brief battle with cancer, the retirement paperwork she had sent in was quietly rescinded.

“Her decision then was more about family and doing what felt right then,” said her son, Taylor.

While another year at the helm for the 2018-2019 school year was important for Ingram on a personal and professional level, when she walks out of her office this week, this time she won’t be coming back in, except for visits.

“While the love and support of her coworkers was needed, I think she’s found most of her comfort and peace through time with us, her brothers and her close girlfriends,” said Taylor. “I believe my mom’s work ethic and passion for education could easily carry her through another decade or so of being a principal, I think she is ready to devote her time to watching her grandkids grow up.”

And while it’s lucky for those seven grandkids she has between Taylor’s two children and his sister, Lauren’s, five, the decision to retire leaves behind large shoes to fill and a lifetime of memories for her fellow educators.

“She was an amazing teacher and administrator who never asked anything she wouldn’t do herself,” said Adrienne Settlemire, now a teacher at Bridges Prep. “She never slept either, because we would have very long emails time-stamped at 2 a.m.”

Mentor

That ability to communicate — no matter the time — was something former Beaufort Middle Teacher of the Year Kelly Hall also appreciated.

“She grew me as a teacher and as a person,” said Hall. “She cared about the school, the staff and the students and would listen to and support my crazy theater-teacher ideas.”

And while Hall doesn’t have the longevity of working with Ingram the way Margie Holland does, their sentiments are roughly identical. Like Settlemire, Holland worked with Ingram on two levels.

“She was a fabulous teacher and an even better administrator,” said Holland. “I learned so much from her in the 25 years we worked together, and she truly is one of the greatest blessings the Lord has given me.”

A long, fulfilling career, surrounded by loyal and steady staff, also affords someone like Ingram time to pass on to others everything she learned in her administrative life, just as the late principal Dr. Randy Wall did for her. She has mentored principals in middle, elementary and high schools across the county, something that ensures her leadership style lives on.

“I have learned so much from her, and I will miss the collaboration and collegiality we have shared,” said Michelle Sackman, principal at Mossy Oaks Elementary. “Her passion for education and the arts has made a huge impact on the students and teachers who have been so lucky to have worked with her.”

Best in SC

There are, of course, plenty of other noteworthy accolades for someone who started teaching at Robert Smalls Middle School in 1983 and moved to Lady’s Island Middle in 1991, where she became an assistant principal under Randy Wall. When Beaufort Middle School opened in 2001, she moved in as assistant principal. She was named interim principal in 2004 and principal a year later.

For example, on a list of middle school principals of the year for the state of South Carolina, you’ll find Ingram’s name by the year 2009.

As if having her name prominently listed in those annals wasn’t enough, just two years later she led Beaufort Middle School to being named one of four of Palmetto’s Finest for the 2011-2012 school year, defined by the South Carolina Association of School Administrators as a school that offered “excellent instruction and outstanding leaders, augmented by strong family and community involvement and a supportive business community.”

What is missing from this “local principal retires” kind of story is a quote from Ingram herself. She would never allow herself to be the topic of her own conversation, which ultimately says more than words could.

So she will have to let the thoughts of others stand in for her own. Like an obstetrician who has brought thousands of babies into the world, or a pastor who has baptized hundreds, it’s hard to measure the true impact of one person’s life on another’s, especially a school leader who has helped shape the lives of countless students and teachers.

For a person like Ingram, even with a second and presumably final retirement, there are always others to impact.

Next year she’ll be the president of the Sea Island Rotary Club, and surely she will make appearances at the school district office or Beaufort Middle. They would both be wise to not let her stray too far.

And of course, there’s the family — the same considerations that led her to stay working one more year have now understandably changed like a lowering of the humidity after a summer thunderstorm.

Perhaps it’s time for her kids, grandkids, siblings and friends to rediscover and benefit from what everyone else already likes about being around Carole Ingram — minus those 2 a.m. emails.

This story was originally published July 25, 2019 at 5:45 AM.