STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Dreher Principal Dr. Joe Eberlin Takes Joy in Learning Alongside His Students

On a visit to a theatre class, Dreher High School Principal Dr. Joe Eberlin was invited to join the students in their warm-up games, saying silly words like “bop” and pretending to be an airplane alongside them. For Dr. Eberlin, visiting classrooms and being a part of what students are learning is the most enjoyable part of his job.

“My best days are when I’m in the classrooms. On my lowest days, I get that pick-me-up by going into the classrooms. It’s not just because I’m doing evaluations. It’s because I’m in awe of what happens in the classroom,” he said.

Dr. Eberlin, who’s been the principal at Dreher for three years, is a product of Richland One. He and his family moved to Columbia when he was in seventh grade. Dr. Eberlin attended Caughman Road Middle School (now Caughman Road Elementary School) and Hopkins Middle School before graduating from Lower Richland High School in 1991.

After graduating from the University of South Carolina, Dr. Eberlin started his education career in 1995 as an English teacher at Richland Northeast High School. He also worked as an English Language Arts teacher at Blythewood Middle School and he was an English teacher at Ridge View High School.

Dr. Eberlin said he thought he was going to be a teacher for the rest of his life, but he says he decided to take the administrative route because he enjoys seeing what students are learning.

“I wanted to get into the curriculum side and work with teachers to see what kind of impact I can have there. Being an English teacher, I was working with 25-30 students. I wanted to see how I could impact an even bigger number of students and teachers,” said Dr. Eberlin.

Among his administrative roles prior to becoming the principal at Dreher, Dr. Eberlin served as the director of magnet programs at Richland Northeast, and he was an assistant principal at Longleaf Middle School, an assistant principal Westwood High School and an assistant principal for instruction at Dutch Fork High School.

When the principal position opened at Dreher, Dr. Eberlin says he jumped at the opportunity to return to Richland One.

“Over the years, Dreher has had an amazing reputation. Every day, I’m humbled to walk into the building and think about what this institution stands for. It’s an air of pride to come back to Richland One,” he said.

One of the first things Dr. Eberlin said he was determined to do as principal was to get to know as many students, teachers and staff members as possible. From doing morning announcements – which include “Dad Joke Fridays” – to showing up at different activities and events, Dr. Eberlin says he’s become known to his students and staff as approachable and, sometimes, goofy.

“I’m a terrible dancer, but the students keep asking me to be a part of our annual Dancing with the Teachers and dance in our pep rallies,” he said.

Dr. Eberlin says one very important skill that he’s learning as a principal is how to stay levelheaded because, at any time, he could go from a celebration to dealing with a serious issue.

“Every day, you can have the highs of the highs and the lows of the lows. Somehow, you have to figure out a way to manage to stay in between and not allow yourself to get too down during those lows or too excited during those highs,” he said. 

Dr. Eberlin says one of the most important duties in his job as principal is to support the teachers and their ideas.

“All of the teachers have great and innovative ideas. I try to say yes as many times as I can to their ideas. I also like to be in the classroom and see it happening,” he said.

That support for the teachers and joy for visiting the classes does pay off. Dr. Eberlin says, of the students who took AP (Advanced Placement) classes during the 2024-2025 school year, 86.9% of them passed their exams.

“That’s a stunning number in my mind. I had never seen anything that high. It’s far beyond the national and global average,” he said. “We’re so proud of the work the students and teachers put in just to get to that moment.”

Dr. Eberlin says he’s learning every day how important his role as principal is not just to Dreher, but to the entire Richland One community. 

“To be able to play a part in leading the education in this district is really gratifying. Learning the impacts that a principal has not just in the building but also in the community as a whole has been a humbling process,” he said.

October is National Principals Month. For information about administrative opportunities in Richland One and to apply, click here.