Administration
W. Burke Royster, Ph.D., Superintendent - Greenville County Schools
Dr. W. Burke Royster became the 10th Superintendent of Greenville County Schools, the 42nd largest district in the nation, in 2012. His tenure as Superintendent has been marked by significant advances and historically high results in student achievement, with a particular focus on improving the District’s graduation rate and ensuring that students are college- and career-ready. In a nod to the progress achieved under his direction, Dr. Royster has been named an Education Week “Leader to Learn From,” was selected as the South Carolina Association of School Administrators’ 2018 Superintendent of the Year, was recognized twice as the South Carolina Athletic Administrators Association’s Superintendent of the Year, and in 2022 was named to Greenville Business Magazine’s “50 Most Influential” Hall of Fame. He serves on the Governing Board of AASA, the national school superintendents’ association, as well as on the Executive Board of the SC Association of School Administrators and is the current president-elect for the six-thousand-member organization, and is an active member of the Large Countywide and Suburban District Consortium, having served as its chair.
The signature initiative of Dr. Royster’s tenure is Graduation Plus, the key ingredient in the District’s focus on “Building a Better Graduate.” Graduation Plus works to increase student achievement and engagement by providing meaningful opportunities for every student to graduate with not only a high school diploma, but also college credit and/or industry certification.
As a direct result of Dr. Royster’s direction and expectations, in 2025, Greenville County Schools reached an overall graduation rate of 90.6%, the highest in the District’s history, and 97.7 percent of GCS schools earned absolute ratings of Excellent, Good or Average on the State Report Cards. The District also continues to set new records annually in student attainment of college credits and industry certifications.
Dr. Royster noted, “The consistent and meaningful improvement in these key measures of academic attainment mirrors enhancements across the district in instructional delivery, student and family engagement, and rigor. It also reflects the extremely supportive and visionary leadership of our Board of Trustees and the commitment and dedication of our principals, teachers, administrators, and staff. Equally important, these historic results reinforce our belief that Greenville County Schools is a national leader in innovation, collaboration, and career and college readiness."
During Dr. Royster’s tenure, the District’s overall graduation rate has increased by over 18 points. The focus on improving outcomes for traditionally lower-performing student subgroups has resulted in graduation rate increases for Students with Disabilities, Pupils in Poverty, African-American students, Hispanic/Latino students, and Multilingual Learners that outpaced the overall district increase.
Another important program launched during Royster’s tenure is the OnTrack Greenville initiative, in partnership with the United Way and other agencies. OnTrack uses Early Warning and Response System (EWRS) software to flag students when attendance, behavior, and/or course performance (the OnTrack ABCs) begin to cause concern. Once flagged, a team of teachers, social workers, administrators, and school counselors convenes to identify and address the root causes of the student’s disengagement and stress to enable the student to focus on learning. The OnTrack EWRS system has been implemented in all schools Districtwide, with coordinated partnerships with local social service agencies and non-profits providing wraparound supports at the highest-need schools.
The beliefs that all decisions should be based on what is best for students and that student achievement is built on a foundation of trusting relationships and enhanced with targeted supports characterize Royster’s educational philosophy. Royster encourages teachers, administrators, and support staff to never lose sight of students’ individual circumstances, gifts, and challenges while maintaining high standards for all. He emphasizes at every opportunity that nothing has a greater impact on student learning than the quality of the teacher in the classroom and nothing has a greater effect on teacher quality than the leadership of school administrators. To that end, he has led the District to create leadership development programs for staff at all levels, with a nationally recognized principal pipeline program.
Royster began his career in 1980 as a teacher and coach at Starr-Iva Middle School in Anderson School District Three and joined Greenville County Schools for the first time in 1983 as assistant principal of Monaview Middle School. He then served as an assistant principal at Northwestern High School in Rock Hill School District Three and assumed his first principalship in 1990 as the inaugural leader of Waccamaw High School in the Georgetown County School District. He returned to Upstate South Carolina in 1994 to serve as principal of Seneca High School in Oconee County Schools and assumed his first district-level position in 1999 as an assistant superintendent in that school district.
He rejoined Greenville County Schools in 2005 as deputy superintendent for operations and became the district’s sole deputy when he assumed additional leadership responsibilities for the instructional division in 2011. As Deputy Superintendent, Royster was a key architect in developing the District’s Long Range Facilities and Capital Improvement planning process with the goal of carefully maintaining the school district’s physical plant and identifying sound financial strategies for meeting future building needs.
Various community boards benefit from Royster’s participation, including the Greenville Chamber, United Way, Greenville Technical College Area Commission, and Public Education Partners. In addition to his service on local boards, Royster is member of the American and South Carolina Associations of School Administrators and has served as President of the Superintendents’ Division of the South Carolina School Administrators Association. A graduate of Leadership Greenville, he also holds memberships in Phi Delta Kappa, the Horace Mann League, Association for Learning Environments (formerly Council of Educational Facilities Planners), the National Association of School Business Officials, and the South Carolina Athletic Administrators Association.
The son of former Anderson County District Five Superintendent Dr. William B. Royster and his wife, Betty, Royster grew up in Anderson County, South Carolina, and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Clemson University. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policies from the University of South Carolina. Royster is married to the former Tina Stephenson, who is retired from banking.
The son of former Anderson County District Five Superintendent Dr. William B. Royster and his wife, Betty, Royster grew up in Anderson County, South Carolina, and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Clemson University. He also holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policies from the University of South Carolina. Royster is married to the former Tina Stephenson, who is retired from banking.