The section of Hopkins Street in front of Building Bridges Academy Middle School (formerly DeRenne Middle School) might not seem like an adequate thoroughfare to recognize one of Savannah’s trailblazing educators. However, Virginia Edwards-Maynor said, “That street has some history.”
The dedication occurred at 10 a.m., Aug. 8. Speaking ahead of the event, Edwards-Maynor relayed that the home she grew up in used to be across the street from Building Bridges. She recalled being one of only a few Black families that lived in the neighborhood.
"George K. Gannam and his family were neighbors," she said. "They had a corner store we would go to."
Gannam was one of the United States' first casualties of World War II during the Pearl Harbor attacks.
Edwards-Maynor eventually enrolled in the then-segregated school, when it was known as DeRenne Elementary. She started there in 1953 as a third grader. White students from her neighborhood were bused to Gould Elementary at that time.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
She would go on to return decades later as an assistant principal when Building Bridges was then DeRenne Middle School. She was actually offered the position after she filed and won an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission discrimination lawsuit against the district. “I had applied for a social studies supervisor role but was turned down. I knew I was being discriminated against. I was able to prove it because I was more qualified that anyone else in consideration for the position. As a result, I was able to be instated in the position or I could accept a position as a principal.”
Since the offer was for DeRenne Middle School, her elementary alma mater, she accepted.
‘Great leaders yield great outcomes for children’
The naming of Virginia Edwards-Maynor Way surprised her because she has been gone from the school district for more than 20 years, but she said she is deeply humbled by the gesture. “I have so many memories growing up as a teenager here and spending time with friends from Greenbriar. We were the only people of color in that section of Hopkins Street.”
A fitting honor for a woman who would ultimately become the first African American female superintendent of the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System. In attendance for the dedication were Savannah’s Mayor Van Johnson, SCCPSS’s former superintendent M. Ann Levett, and current Superintendent Denise Watts.
Through Edwards-Maynor’s years of service, she made a great impact on the education of countless students and the development of the school system. Of all the roles and positions she held, she indicated that her role as a teacher impacted her the most. “It was more hands on,” she said. “Teaching is the engine that drives the quality of life that a child can receive.”
As the community reflects back on her life and career with the dedication, she hopes she is most remembered for the quality of leadership standard that she aimed to set. “Great leaders yield great outcomes for children,” she said. “Great leaders who are willing to stand up against all politics. If we are about educating students and improving their academic condition, then we cannot allow politics to interfere with that mission.”
She also noted that people who knew her and worked with her would likely recall that she had a degree of integrity and that she was not easily persuaded. “Most people would say, even if they don’t like me, they respect me. That to me was more important as well as some level of achievement, such as SAT scores and reading test results going up during my time [in leadership].”
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Inspire others to thrive in their communities
Edwards-Maynor also expressed a desire to have set an example that it pays well to reinvest in your community. According to her biography on TheHistoryMakers.org, she graduated from Alfred Ely Beach High School in 1963, then earned her B.S. degree from Savannah State University in 1968. Staying close to home to gain her education would be a large part of her career journey as she obtained her M.Ed. degree in history from Armstrong State University in 1974. The farthest she would venture for a degree would be Statesboro, where she earned her Ed.S. degree from Georgia Southern University in 1982.
After working both the Horry County School System and the Ridgeland South Carolina Public School System, she came back to Savannah where she built her legacy of educational leadership. When asked why she stayed close to home for her education and career she said, “I think when we move away we take something away as role models for others to follow. It is important that young people see that there are possibilities for high quality of life right here at home.”
Edwards-Maynor keeps busy by still giving back to her community. She remains involved with Butler Memorial Presbyterian Church, where she has been a member since her parents converted to Catholicism and she decided to find her own church as a teenager. She also serves on the Greenbriar Children's Center's board.
Her Savannah community also helped her find love again later in life. During a Beach High School class reunion in 2009, she reconnected with a former classmate. “We saw each other and he couldn’t believe it was me. After that we started communicating and then he moved back to Savannah from California.” They married in 2010 and enjoy a happy life together.
Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for Savannah Morning News. You can reach him a jschwartzburt@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: City of Savannah dedicates Virginia Edwards-Maynor Way in honor of educator
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