Jennifer McNair began her 2024-2025 school year in July as the new principal of Lexington High School (LHS). She is passionate about education and has been an administrator at the elementary and high school levels of education for twenty-five of her thirty-year career, and she loves her job.
McNair grew up in Surfside Beach in Horry County, South Carolina, and attended Socastee High School. Education has played an essential role in McNair’s life. Her mother is a retired teacher, and her dad is an engineer and former school board member. These days he teaches Sunday School. “I look up to my parents and am very proud to be the daughter of educators. My family has always been engaged in some form of education, through work or experience,” she said.
McNair initially pursued an electrical engineering degree at The University of South Carolina. Three years into her major, she realized engineering was not a good fit. She wanted to work with people, something she might not be able to do as an engineer. She was good at math; she liked people and had even participated in the Teacher Cadet program in high school. So, she switched majors in her senior year. Eventually, she would earn a Bachelor of Science in math and a Master of Education in educational administration.
She began teaching math at White Knoll Middle School in 1995; five years later, McNair began her career in administration. She shared, “I want people to do well. It’s important to teach young children how to go to school, how to interact with other people, and how to begin to learn. It’s important for young people to figure out their core values, and what is important to them. Honoring those values, being productive, and being respectful of other people and their ideas are just as important as learning core content. I tell parents that as long as we are working toward the same goal of student success, we are moving in the right direction, and chances are we will learn something along the way.”
As for her future, McNair said, “I don’t see retirement anytime soon. I still have a lot of energy to do this. I like what I’m doing and the people I’m working with. They are great people. The team at LHS wants students to succeed and do well, which is a great way to feel about your work. I want to keep doing what I’m doing. LHS is a great place to be. I plan to keep supporting the Wildcats and expecting great things from the students there.”
Some of her hobbies are reading and relaxing at the beach, keeping the church nursery every other week, and even people-watching when visiting Soda City. Of course, as the only female in a house full of male USC fans, McNair keeps up with USC sports. McNair and her husband Stephen have three boys: Austin, Alex, and Aidan. All are University of South Carolina graduates, except Aidan, who is in his sophomore year. The family attends Lexington Baptist Church.