During the September 18 meeting of the Lexington County School District One Board of Trustees, the board named Gloria B. Nester principal of the district’s newest middle school under construction at 1340 Highway 378 in Lexington. This move is effective January 4, 2018.

The new middle school, which sits on a 34.57-acre site, will open in August of 2019 for the 2019–2020 school year. The finished school will be about 196,000 square feet and is designed for 1,200 students with the capacity to serve 1,500 students.

Superintendent Greg Little, Ed.D. said, “Gloria Nester brings a high level of experience and enthusiasm that we will need as we plan and open this new middle school for opening next year.”

Nester currently serves as principal of Lexington Middle School, an International Baccalaureate World School, and has more than 28 years of experience in public education.

A Spanish teacher for much of her career, first in Ohio and later at Hammond Upper School in Columbia and Ridge View High School in Blythewood, Nester joined Lexington District One in 2000. She taught Spanish at White Knoll Middle School before her promotion to Central Services as a technology integration specialist in 2004.

Another promotion sent her to Lexington Middle as assistant administrator/assistant principal in 2012. She took over the role of principal there in 2016.

Nester earned a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and English from Kent State University and a Master of Education in educational administration from Ashland University. She holds International Baccalaureate Head of School certification, gifted and talented endorsement, and served as Graduate Education Adjunct Professor for the College of Charleston.

She is a member of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, the South Carolina Association of School Administrators, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the Association for Middle Level Education.

Accolades for Nester include White Knoll Middle Teacher of the Year in 2003, Lexington Middle Teacher of the Year in 2010 and Kent State University Amner Spanish Award Recipient in 1991.