Executive Director of Elementary Learning Community Francine Mitchell

Mitchell has served as an interim Executive Director of the Elementary Learning Community since 2022.

Throughout her career, Mitchell, an award-winning CCSD teacher and administrator, has held various positions in education from the classroom to district administration in a variety of domestic and international settings. Mitchell’s first role as a school-based leader was as an assistant principal at Charles Pinckney Elementary School in 2004 where she led over 900 students and 70 staff members daily.

A highly organized and effective leader, Mitchell was selected to become principal at James B. Edwards Elementary School (JBE) in 2009. While at JBE, Mitchell focused her talents on curriculum development, child growth and development, instructional strategies, and classroom management. She left JBE in 2015 to relocate to Illinois where she served as a lead faculty member for Atlantic Research Partners, a company focused on research-based teacher professional development and training on pedagogical best practices directly linked to student academic achievement.

In 2016, Mitchell relocated back to South Carolina where she rejoined the district as a Director of Employee Relations. In this capacity, Mitchell worked with district employees at all levels of the organization to resolve conflicts, mentor and advise as needed, and help develop employee improvement plans for six years before her appointment to serve as interim Executive Director of Elementary Learning in 2022.

Mitchell holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Ohio State and a Master of Art in Educational Leadership from Eastern Michigan. She has been the recipient of several leadership awards throughout her career including the 2014-2015 Elementary Learning Community’s Star Principal Award and the Palmetto Gold Award every year during her tenure at James B. Edwards. She also holds early childhood, elementary, and principal certifications.