By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Robert Smalls International Academy principal Bradley Tarrance is not originally from Beaufort, but in the five years that he has been in the Lowcountry he has sought to create a home and safe space for the students who attend the school.
Tarrance, who is originally from Flint, Mich., is entering his fifth year at the K-8 school with a new achievement to add to his long list of accomplishments, 2025-2026 Beaufort County School District Principal of the Year.
He said that one of the big draws for him to move to Beaufort for his career was the opportunity to work with Beaufort’s superintendent Frank Rodriguez.
“We ended up deciding on Beaufort County specifically because Dr. Rodriguez is an outstanding superintendent and then we really loved the history that was here on the Beaufort side – being the foundation of reconstruction and the strength of the community here – there was no doubt that this was the place to call home,” Tarrance said.
The 43-year-old principal said that he fell in love with the school and community right away.
“Robert Smalls Leadership had my heart from the first time I saw it and met the beautiful people that are here,” said Tarrance.
When asked why he thinks he was honored by being named this year’s Principal of the Year he said that he tries to “lead with humility” and he does not see this as his award, but as a community award.
“I always say it takes a village, and we know that,” said Tarrance. “I’m just one part of the piece of the puzzle to the village.”
The school is a completely different school – physically, socially, emotionally and academically – than it was five years ago when he arrived for his first year as principal, according to Tarrance.
He said that the reputation of the school was not very good when he took over as principal because the school lacked systems and a real direction.
“So, what I think led to this was the vision of a community school where we meet the community where they’re at and are able to identify those needs and handle those needs,” Tarrance said.
There are three laundry facilities on site, a free grocery store in the school and they offer parenting classes [at the school].
The school runs 12 different summer programs to keep kids in the community busy and has around 350 kids at the school every single day during the summer.
“We listen to the feedback that the staff and parents and students give us, and we directly implement that,” Tarrance said.
Any student who stays in after-school care also gets served dinner in addition to the free breakfast and lunch that all Beaufort County students receive free of charge.
Tarrance said that there is not much for kids to do on the north side of the Broad River, so his vision was to make the school more than a place for learning but also a community hub where families can come an
While he has found his groove now, Tarrance said that starting at the school was challenge as this is the most unique school that he has ever worked at due to the way the school is structured.
Pre-K to fifth grade has roughly 50 kids per grade, but once students get to sixth grade the number of students jumps up to 180 per grade level. The school has two different bell schedules, one for middle school and one for elementary, and gets two state report cards, one for elementary and one for middle school.
But while the two parts to the school are treated separately in many ways, he is constantly trying to find ways to connect the upper academy and lower academy students so they can learn from one another.
“I think a lot of people confuse schooling and education,” Tarrance said. “We’re true educators here where we’re changing the world every day. I let our staff know here, not everybody gets to wake up and actually have an impact on the future of our world. When you’re driven by that, the other stuff will take care of itself.”
He tells his teachers and staff to be authentic, transparent and vulnerable and if you are those three things, they will lead to relational trust.
“That means if you’re a white guy from Flint, Mich., like me, then be the white guy from Flint, Mich., and our kids will absolutely love that because our kids have an amazing meter to tell if someone’s being fake or not,” said Tarrance. “And if you’re fake in my community, they will immediately chew you up and spit you out.”
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.
