RICHLAND ONE STAFF SPOTLIGHT: W.G. Sanders Assistant Principal Harriett Davis Leads with a ‘Teacher’s Heart’

Harriett Davis says she fell in love with education “accidentally.”

Davis, an assistant principal at W.G. Sanders Middle School, is originally from Junction City, Kansas, but she moved to South Carolina when she was in middle school. After graduating from Campbell University in North Carolina in 2002, she became an English teacher in Allendale County.

She says working in education was not her initial plan. Her undergraduate degree was in professional English and pre-law.

“I came in thinking ‘Okay. I’m going to do education for a year and then go to law school,” Davis said.

At the time she started as a teacher, Davis says there was a literacy deficit at the high school where she was teaching. She says some of her freshmen and sophomore students were reading on third-grade or fourth-grade levels. That’s when Davis decided to do something about it.

“I started researching. I started to find ways to impact the students and strengthen their literacy skills. I got my first master’s degree in curriculum, focusing on literacy, reading and writing. Once I did that and I saw the gains that my students were making in the classroom, I didn’t want to leave,” Davis said.

After teaching in Allendale County for two years, Davis taught in Swansea for two years then at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School for ten years. With more than a decade of experience teaching under her belt, Davis decided to take the administrative route.

“I wanted to see what else I could give to this profession, and that was taking things to the next level, being able to impact the teachers who impact our students,” she said.

Davis became an assistant principal at W.G. Sanders in 2020. She says starting as an assistant principal during the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge, but she learned all about the responsibilities of an assistant principal quickly while also focusing on helping the teachers.

“I was able to focus on the instruction and all of the things that would impact instruction, from planning to guiding and giving teachers resources to help them navigate through this new way of teaching [students remotely],” said Davis.

She says she always remembers the most impactful things that helped her when she was a teacher. One of those things was the importance of collaboration and teamwork.  

“You don’t have to be the fixer of all things all the time. It’s a collective effort. You have a team, and you need to lean in and depend on your team to do those things. If you try to do all the things by yourself, you’ll surely fail,” Davis said.

She says assistant principals wear more hats than you might think. At times, they could be a student’s guidance counselor or teacher. In some situations, assistant principals could even act as a student’s parent.

“Being in the classroom, you don’t see all the things an assistant principal does. You tend to not think about when a student comes to your office, they’re upset and the teacher doesn’t have time to figure out why. That’s part of our role,” said Davis. “We sit, we talk and we have to figure out the why behind the behavior. If you don’t, the behavior will just continue. It’s not going to stop.”

To build relationships with her students, Davis says there has to be a lot of care put into them.

“You have to care. Relationships can’t be superficial. You have to get to know the students. You have to know what’s important to them. You have to share what’s important to you. Through that authentic sharing is how you build that relationship,” she said.

Davis also works to build relationships with parents. One way she does that is by trying to call all of the students’ parents at the beginning of the school year before any calls she may have to make to them during the year about behavior issues.

“You want to call and introduce yourself to them. You say ‘Hi. I’m the assistant principal. I will have your son or your daughter. Is there anything that you feel like I need to be aware of? What are some challenges that you can help me overcome with your son or your daughter?” she said.

Davis says she loves when she sees students outside of school and they’re excited to see her.

“They’re speaking not because they have to. They’re speaking because they want me to know that they see me and that I matter,” said Davis.

She says she hopes to become a principal someday and is already taking steps to do so. Davis went through the R1 Ready Leadership Development Program, which prepares assistant principals to be principals, and she is working on her doctorate in instructional leadership. She’s also getting guidance from W.G. Sanders Principal Andrenna Smith.

“She (Smith) has been instrumental in helping me to gain the skills that I need. She’s been very honest with me when she says ‘Okay, Harriett. You need to work on this.’ She gives me those opportunities to build in those areas of deficiency and I appreciate that,” Davis said.

She says the students, parents and staff at W.G. Sanders have all given her the opportunity to grow as an assistant principal.

“I know that I wouldn’t be the type of assistant principal that’s as concerned about staff, students and parents unless I was here,” said Davis.

April 7-11, 2025 is National Assistant Principals Week. For information about administrative opportunities in Richland One and to apply, click here.