Berkeley County School District is excited to share that Dr. Brandon Gantt, principal at Whitesville Elementary, has been honored with the 2025 Inez Tenenbaum Leadership Award.
This recognition is presented annually to a single principal as part of the School Leadership Executive Institute – or SLEI – and is a testament to Gantt’s exceptional leadership at Whitesville.
SLEI was developed and implemented by the South Carolina Department of Education in partnership with the Truist Leadership Institute. It is a rigorous seven-month program designed to enhance principals’ skills in Instructional Leadership, Leading Change, and Engagement and Motivational Strategies. In the final meetings of the program, participants nominate the person who has consistently demonstrated excellent leadership qualities and who has had the most positive impact on the class; this person is selected as the recipient of the award.
The award is named for Inez Tenebaum, who served as South Carolina's State Superintendent of Education from 1998 – 2006. She is credited for South Carolina leading the nation in education improvement during her tenure.
Dr. Gerard Edwards, Education Associate in the Office of Educator Effectiveness & Leadership Development and lead for SLEI, was among a group of people who swung by Whitesville Elementary Tuesday afternoon to surprise Gantt with the award. Also joining in on the surprise was Gantt’s family: his wife, Beatriz – Spanish teacher at Hanahan High – and their four children Lola, Ava, Nora and Eliza. BCSD Superintendent Dr. Anthony Dixon and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Karen Whitley were also in attendance. VIEW MORE
The group surprised Gantt in the school’s multipurpose room, where Gantt was meeting was a crowd of school staff members. Edwards initially spoke before the crowd under the guise that Gantt was not able to attend the graduation ceremony for the SLEI program, so he was dropping off his certificate of completion, but then he started talking about the impacts of Inez Tenebaum and the award named after her.
“Each year our class votes on the person who should receive this award,” he said, proceeding to read off what other leaders in education wrote about Gantt when they nominated him:
• “He guided our discussions and helped us think more deeply, stretching our thinking, helping us think outside the box.”
• “He’s been up front and on point throughout the SLEI experience. He shares regularly without overtaking.”
• “He actively listens, thinks deeply, and provides wisdom during conversations of the topics being discussed.”
• “He deserves the Inez Moore Tenenbaum Award.”
Edwards then named Gantt as this year’s award recipient, and had Gantt’s family present him with a special plaque, which they had kept hidden in a Captain America backpack.
“I’m beyond words,” Gantt said after the surprise, adding, “Dr. Edwards lives two hours away so I’m sure there was a lot of planning that happened, and I’m excited.”
Gantt said the SLEI program really gives leaders in education the opportunity to learn and grow, and to be nominated for the award by his peers in the program “is huge.”
“It is great when other principals see and acknowledge the work that you do,” he said.
