LEXINGTON, S.C. — After a remarkable 28-year career in public education, Red Bank Elementary School Principal Janet Ricard has announced plans to retire at the end of the 2025–26 school year. Ricard has dedicated her career to serving students, supporting teachers and building school communities where every child is known, challenged and encouraged to thrive. Throughout her career, she has worked to ensure instruction is meaningful and student-centered while creating school environments grounded in care, high expectations and strong relationships.
Ricard began her education career in 1998 as a first-grade teacher at Batesburg-Leesville Primary School in Lexington School District Three, where she taught for 13 years. During that time, she designed differentiated instruction to meet the needs of young learners, implemented balanced literacy practices, and maintained a classroom culture built on responsibility, accountability and joy for learning.
In 2011, she joined Lexington County School District One as assistant principal at Saxe Gotha Elementary School. In that role, she coordinated curriculum and instruction for grades K–5, facilitated district and state assessments and served on both the Lighthouse Team and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Team. She also helped lead textbook adoptions in English Language Arts and mathematics and earned multiple statewide recognitions for school communication and publication efforts.
In 2018, Ricard became assistant principal at Pelion Elementary School, where she continued to shape strong instructional practices and school-wide structures to support student achievement. Her leadership included implementing Zones of Regulation and Responsive Classroom initiatives, collecting low-inference observation data, coaching teachers and strengthening student attendance through stakeholder engagement and family partnerships. She played a key role in professional learning design, Title I collaboration and crisis management protocols. Ricard joined the team at Red Bank Elementary as the school’s principal in 2019.
Ricard was named the 2017 South Carolina Elementary Assistant Principal of the Year by the South Carolina Association of School Administrators (SCASA). She also received the South Carolina Alpha Delta Kappa Excellence in Education Award in 2018 and numerous South Carolina National School Public Relations Association Rewards for Excellence for publications and electronic media. In addition, Ricard received the General Federation of Woman’s Clubs Volunteer of the Year Award for South Carolina in 2011. She has also been published multiple times, including articles in Kappan and Palmetto Administrator highlighting leadership work, student programs and school community initiatives.
Ricard earned her Bachelor of Science in business administration and master’s degree in educational administration from the University of South Carolina. She is certified in Early Childhood (PreK–3), Elementary Education (2–6), Elementary Principal/Supervisor, and has a Gifted and Talented endorsement. She also completed the South Carolina Department of Education’s Developing Aspiring Principals Program and the Assistant Principals’ Program for Leadership Excellence, as well as National School Reform Faculty Critical Friends Group Coach training.
