Marlboro County School District would like to announce Mr. Michael Dease as our 2022-2023 Principal of Marlboro County High School. Mr. Dease is a native of Bennettsville, SC. He is a 2002 graduate of Marlboro County High School where he excelled both in academics and athletics. He was member of the 2001 Men's Basketball State Championship team. He attended Pfeiffer University on a basketball scholarship, and after one year, he continued his basketball and higher education career at Newberry College. He is a 2006 Graduate of Newberry College, obtaining a Bachelor of Science Degree in Recreation and Leisure Services. After college, he began his teaching career as Physical Education Teacher in Scotland County, NC, at Sycamore Lane Middle School. He spent stints at Spring High Middle School and later became the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Scotland High School.
After one year as the Men's Basketball Coach, Mr. Dease transitioned to Columbia, SC, to continue his teaching career. He served as a Physical Education Teacher at Hopkins Elementary School for one year until an opportunity arose for him to transition into Administration at Dreher High School, where he served as the Dean of Students for 3.5 years. While at Dreher High School, he furthered his education by obtaining a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Arkansas State University. At Dreher High School, he was instrumental in spearheading the Intro to Teaching program through the University of South Carolina Department of Education. This program allowed students that were majoring in Education and entering their student teaching to get real life experience dealing with discipline, pedagogy, and day-to-day operations of becoming an effective and highly qualified teacher.
The opportunity that he dreamed of since a child came knocking on the door. He became an Assistant Principal at St. Andrews Middle School, where he has served for the past 5.5 years. At St. Andrews Middle School he served as the 8th grade Assistant Principal, and he is the Founder of Project M.O.V.E. (Men Of Vision & Excellence). This program allows underprivileged and underachieving students the opportunity to be mentored and taught core values to help them defy the odds as they navigate throughout life. Each year, he holds a Male Summit that allows successful men from the community to come and mentor all the male students within the school. The community members talk about their careers and the hardships that shaped their success. For the past 15 years, Mr. Dease has dedicated his career to serving students. Students are the primary focus in education and so crucial to what tomorrow holds. Mr. Dease credits his parents, family, mentors, and community leaders for his success.
He is a proud father of two beautiful daughters, Taylor Maddison, and Callie Marie.
Dr. Jason Bryant, Associate Superintendent of Human Resources had this to say about Mr. Dease joining MCHS, "We are thrilled to have Mr. Dease on our team. This is an exciting time for our district, and he provides the necessary experience, knowledge, and skills to take Marlboro County High School to the next level. Mr. Dease comes highly recommended as an administrator, mentor, and instructional leader. He has a passion and vision for building positive relationships and developing mentoring programs to help motivate students for success."