Corner hired as KCSD Director of Assessment, Montgomery named CHS interim principal

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

At the November 7 Board of Trustees Meeting, the Kershaw County School District Board of Trustees approved the hiring of Lesley Corner as the district’s new Director of Assessment. Corner will replace Lavoy Carter, who is retiring in December. The Board also named Rose Timmerberg Montgomery as the interim principal of Camden High School. Both changes are effective January 4, 2024.

Corner joined KCSD in 2010 as an assistant principal at Camden High School, and was promoted to principal in 2019. In that role, she earned Principal’s Silver and Gold Levels in the Center for Executive Education Leadership (CEEL) program. As an assistant principal at Camden High, she was chosen as the 2016 South Carolina Secondary Assistant Principal of the Year, a finalist for the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ Assistant Principal of the Year Award, and an “emerging leader'' by ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum). 

She previously taught English in Lexington/Richland School District 5, where she was honored as the District Teacher of the Year. 

“I’ve deeply enjoyed my time at Camden High School, and I look forward to assisting in the continued growth of all KCSD schools,” says Corner.

Corner earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Winthrop University, a Masters of Education degree from the University of South Carolina, and an Educational Specialist degree with Superintendent licensure from University of South Carolina. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Education Systems Improvement from the University of South Carolina. She is certified as a teacher, secondary principal, secondary supervisor, and superintendent.

She is the wife of Craig Corner, a Special Education Coordinator in Richland School District Two, and the mother of three Kershaw County School District students — Lainey (Camden High), Camy (Camden Middle), and Colton (Camden Elementary).

Corner is a member of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators, National Association of Secondary School Principals, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum. 

With more than 20 years of education experience, Rose Montgomery currently serves as the assistant director of Woolard Technology Center (WTC), where she has served since 2019. Prior to joining WTC, she served as an assistant principal at North Central High School for 10 years, where they received several recognitions as a bronze level U.S News and World Report’s Top High School in the nation.

Montgomery is a 1995 Camden High School graduate, and returned to teach French at her alma mater from 2001-2009, where she served as a department head for five years. She served as a part of the administration team as an administrative assistant from 2006-2009. In 2007, she was named the school’s teacher of the year. 

“Having lived in Camden for over twenty years, I look forward to being able to give back to the school and community that has given my family and me so much over the years. I’m excited to work with the students, staff, parents, and community to foster a positive and rigorous learning environment,” says Montgomery.

Montgomery holds a bachelor’s degree in French from the University of South Carolina and master’s degree in Secondary Administration from the University of South Carolina. She is certified as a teacher, secondary principal, and secondary supervisor.

She completed the KCSD Developing Administrators Program and the South Carolina Department of Education Developing Aspiring Principals Program. Montgomery is a member of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators and South Carolina Association for Career and Technical Education.

Montgomery is married to Tripp Montgomery and has two children, both Camden High graduates, Meg and Dru. Meg is a sophomore at Clemson University and Dru is a senior at Clemson University.