2000 National Principal of Year was honored by Clinton, attended State of the Union
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Ruth (Stanley) Summerlin, the former Beaufort Elementary School principal whose leadership transformed one of South Carolina’s lowest-performing schools into a National Blue Ribbon campus and earned her national recognition from President Bill Clinton, has died.
She was 76.
Summerlin passed away peacefully in her sleep on Jan. 24, 2026, in Gainesville, Ga., after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, according to her family.
For many in Beaufort County, Summerlin’s name is synonymous with one of the most dramatic school turnarounds in local education history.
From “worst 200” to Blue Ribbon
In 1995, Summerlin became principal of Beaufort Elementary School, a Title I campus serving predominantly low-income students that had been ranked among the 200 lowest-performing schools in South Carolina.
Over the next five years, she designed and implemented a comprehensive improvement plan that reshaped instruction, expanded academic support programs and restructured the school calendar.
The campus added after-school and summer remediation programs, reduced early-grade class sizes and lengthened its academic year to 200 days.
By 1999, the results were dramatic.
Beaufort Elementary was named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.
According to the official White House guest biography published at the time, “student performance at Beaufort Elementary exceeded district and state averages in both reading and math.”
The school, previously a 100% free-and-reduced lunch campus, began attracting students from private academies and suburban schools — a striking reversal that underscored the magnitude of the turnaround.
The White House credited Summerlin as “instrumental in the school turn-around.”
A seat in the First Lady’s Gallery
In January 2000, Summerlin was invited to Washington, D.C., as one of 10 citizens seated in the First Lady’s Gallery during the State of the Union address.
The archived White House announcement described the selected guests as Americans “making an impact in their communities” and cited Beaufort Elementary’s transformation as a model of school improvement.
Her inclusion placed Beaufort’s public schools in a national spotlight and marked one of the most visible moments in the district’s history.
That same year, Summerlin was named National Principal of the Year, further cementing her reputation as an education leader.
Beyond Beaufort
Born Ruth Grechia Stanley on April 13, 1949, in Chattanooga, Tenn., she grew up in Buckhead, Ga., and graduated from the University of Georgia in 1970.
She later earned a master’s degree from Georgia Southern University and a doctorate in education from Nova Southeastern University.
After her tenure in Beaufort, Summerlin returned to Georgia, where she became principal of Bascomb Elementary School in Woodstock.
Under her leadership, that school also earned National Blue Ribbon status before her retirement in 2007.
She later worked as a School Improvement Specialist for the State of Georgia, taught at the International Student Center and served as a part-time professor at Piedmont College.
Remembered for leadership and warmth
Friends and family described Summerlin as vibrant, positive and deeply committed to students and educators alike.
She is survived by her daughter, Catherine Flanigan of Cumming, Ga., two grandchildren, her sisters, extended family and her longtime partner, Clyde Morris Jr.
A celebration of life will be held March 15 in Cumming, Ga. For Summerlin’s complete obituary, visit https://bit.ly/4qFXYVa.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.