During the July 1 board meeting, the Kershaw County School Board approved Jodie Kahler as the district’s new Coordinator of Teacher Quality and Staff Development and Dr. Siddeeqah Cruse as the new assistant principal of Leslie M. Stover Middle School.
Jodie Kahler moves into this position with 23 years of education experience, all as an English teacher and ELA department chair at North Central Middle School. Since 2008, she has coordinated the district’s mentor support program, training mentors and supporting principals through the mentorship process. Starting in 2020, Kahler joined the induction teacher support team, supporting new certified hires and providing professional development for all induction teachers. In addition, she began teaching ProTeam, a class geared to increase middle school students’ interest in the teaching profession.
She has received many honors and awards including being named her school’s Teacher of the Year three times, being named the 2003 KCSD District Secondary Reading Teacher of the Year, and being selected as the Kershaw County First Alternate District Teacher of the Year in 2015 and 2024. Earlier this year, Kahler was awarded the 2025 Jessie Little “Leading the Way” Award from Winthrop University, recognizing her teaching and mentoring skills for new and seasoned educators.
Kahler earned a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of South Carolina and a Master’s degree in instructional accommodations from Francis Marion University.
She is a member of Palmetto State Teachers Association.
Kahler and her husband, Eric, reside in Camden. Their children, Todd and Whitley, are Camden High School graduates.
Dr. Siddeeqah Cruse joined KCSD in 2023 as a seventh grade teacher at Stover Middle, where she currently serves as the 504 Coordinator and the National Junior Honor Society Faculty Advisor. She began her teaching career 16 years ago, teaching middle school social studies in Lee and Richland Counties. While in Richland County School District Two she served as the AVID site coordinator, Project Based Learning Coach and Soar Program Lead at her school. She also served on the Richland Two District Grading Task Force and the SC Department of Education Social Student Alignment Guide Committee.
She completed Kershaw County School District’s Developing Administrators Program. She is a member of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators, South Carolina Association for Middle Level Education, and National Council for Social Studies. .
Dr. Cruse earned a Bachelor of History degree, Master of Teaching degree in Secondary Education, Master of Arts degree in Educational Leadership, and a Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction, all from the University of South Carolina. Dr. Cruse and her husband, Jonathan, live in Elgin with their three children: Jordyn, Jonathan, and Jaxon.