A look back at Beverley Levine's career in Oglethorpe County schools.
When asked what she would miss most, Beverley Levine said the answer was simple.
“The kids,” she said. “That’s why you do the job. I’ve tried to never lose sight of that.”
Levine, superintendent of the Oglethorpe County School System, is set to retire, effective June 30. After 38 years, Levine said she hopes to be remembered as someone with integrity, who listens, who cares and who will leave the county better than she found it.
That’s partly because of what the students, faculty and county gave to her. Levine said if she was ever stressed or had a bad day, she simply went to the schools.
“I love seeing them shine, whether it’s on the football field or at academic bowl,” Levine said.
Levine has spent her career in Oglethorpe County, starting as a teacher in 1987. She worked as a teacher, assistant principal and principal before becoming the superintendent in 2015.
In her early years as a teacher, the welcoming environment kept her here. For the rest of her career.
“On my very first day, (the second-grade teacher team) brought me flowers. This is now 38 years ago, and I remember it to this day,” Levine said. “I just felt like, you know what, I’m a part of something now.”
Overseas to Oglethorpe
Levine grew up in Cape Town, South Africa. She struggled with reading as a child, but it propelled her into a career in education.
“I was a terrible student, and school was not my thing,” Levine said. “Just because school is hard, doesn’t mean that you can’t succeed.”
Levine came to the U.S. to play tennis at the University of Georgia and study special education. She intended to return to Cape Town after one year, but when completing her student teaching in Oglethorpe County, she fell in love with the school system.
So she stayed, completing all of her education at the University of Georgia, where she obtained a degree in special education, a master’s degree in behavior disorders and a specialist degree in education leadership.
Starting her career with 10 years of teaching self-contained, behavior disordered children, Levine took two groups from kindergarten to fifth grade, before becoming the assistant principal at Oglethorpe County Middle School.
After five years as assistant principal at OCMS, she became the principal.
For Keith Goodwin, a former assistant principal at OCMS and one of Levine’s close former colleagues, she can be described in one sentence.
“The best professional I’ve ever worked with,” he said.
Goodwin spoke to her strength as a leader, both willing to challenge others and deeply compassionate.
“(She) calls people higher, and they respond to her,” he said. “She’s got a really dynamic set of interpersonal skills, and very good professional skills as well. She’s all business when it comes to educating kids.”
Goodwin helped Levine implement professional learning communities during her time as principal of OCMS. Together they wrote a grant, allowing for teachers to attend conferences and workshops.
“Suddenly, all of them blossomed,” Goodwin said. “Everybody was contributing to the success of each other, because we were working in teams.”
As OCMS principal, Levine worked to create a family-like atmosphere with her staff, hosting yearly Christmas parties for the teachers’ children.
“I recognize that it’s hard to be a teacher’s kid, so instead of doing a Christmas party for the faculty, we did a kid’s Christmas party,” Levine said. “I watched our faculty’s kids grow up, and so it really made us a family.”
Grad rates increase
Levine wanted to create a family-like atmosphere centered on communication with both staff and parents when she began as superintendent in 2015. She started with a community listening session her first year, something that’s done every two years.
“It gave students, teachers, the community, a voice,” Levine said. “I might think I know the priorities, but if you don’t listen to the community, the staff, and parents, you really don’t know what they’re thinking.”
From there, she oversaw improvement in graduation rates, the building of the new elementary school, the addition of a school-based health center and expansion of involvement opportunities, like work-based learning, for students. The graduation rate for the class of 2016, the year Levine began as interim superintendent, was 79.4%. It was 91.7% for the class of 2025.
“I’ve got to give our principals a tremendous amount of credit,” Levine said. “We have three amazing principals, and just amazing staff, who have that same vision that I do, the best for every kid.”
For Sue Ann Blalock, Levine’s administrative assistant, watching her love for the children has been her favorite part of working with her.
“She would take a fifth-grade yearbook, and she would take it home for the summer,” Blalock said. “When she came back, we would greet those sixth-grade students by name.”
Blalock has worked with Levine for 29 years, and they have formed a close bond among the tight-knit Central Office staff.
“I was 20-something whenever she hired me,” Blalock said. “She’s been like my second mom, teaching me along the way.”
Through tear-filled eyes, Blalock shared what she felt was one of Levine’s biggest accomplishments.
“No matter if you’re a teacher, you’re a bus driver, you’re pushing a broom, or you’re working in the lunch room, she treats us all the same. She calls us by name,” Blalock said. “She loves all of us.”
When speaking of the county itself, Levine reflected fondly on the way the community rallies together.
“I’ve always been a champion for the underdog,” Levine said. “They are wealthy, not financially, but folks here have the biggest hearts.”
Going out strong
As superintendent, Levine called the Oglethorpe County Board of Education “outstanding,” saying “it’s what has allowed me to do this for 11 years.”
Levine shared fond memories, from packing meals to deliver during COVID-19 to coming together to provide hot meals and showers to those in need after a hurricane.
“You ask for help in this community, they’re coming,” Levine said.
Ultimately, Levine said she hopes to give just as much back to the children of the county.
“The children in Oglethorpe County deserve what every other child, anywhere else gets,” she said. “We might not have the finances that another county might have, but I (wanted) to make sure that our students didn’t feel that and that they had opportunities.”
While Levine highlights the way her community is quick to aid, she has also often quietly met the needs of that community, beyond requirement or obligation.
“She’s taking food to people’s houses on the weekend. Just this week she bought a kid a pillow,” Blalock said. “What other human is going to do that?”
As her time in Oglethorpe County comes to a close, Levine said she is looking forward to traveling. While she hopes to improve her golf game, she has greater hopes for continued improvement in Oglethorpe County.
“I was very hands-on, and I just hope that I’ve laid the foundation for somebody else to come in and put their spin on things,” Levine said. “I’d like to see the next person come in and take it to the next level.”