The South Carolina Department of Education recently named Dr. Quinicie Moore as the State Director for Career and Technical Education (CATE).
During her 37-year career as an educator, Dr. Quincie Moore taught both math and computer science, helping to bridge the connection between math and technology for her students. “I was a [Career and Technical Education] CATE teacher and I didn’t even know it,” Quincie said. After getting her Masters in Business Administration, Quincie moved into school administration, first as an assistant principal, followed by a middle and high school principal across multiple districts. Quincie advanced to Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and then returned to her home district as the Superintendent.
Quincie retired from her position as Superintendent and took on a new position as the Director of Early Learning and Literacy with the South Carolina Department of Education. In this position, Quincie moved the district vocational center, then referred to as “The Vo,” to a rural technical community college campus and rebranded it as the “Institute of Innovation” to better inform the community about what CTE offers for learners.
Quincie’s passion for CTE is fueled by her desire to make sure every learner fully understands and is exposed to all the opportunities available to them. As part of this mission, Quincie aims for her team to help school districts get learners “college and career ready, not or.” With the South Carolina Profile of a Graduate dedicated to learners having world-class knowledge, world-class skills, and life and career characteristics such as integrity, global perspective and perseverance, Quincie stated, “[We are] getting kids ready for a career, not a job.”
Quincie gives credit to her significant time and various roles in school districts for preparing her for the position of State Director. “As superintendent, I had business advisory councils in my home county and I thought I knew the community.” However, Quincie realized that she only knew the big companies and not the smaller ones doing incredible work. “If I didn’t know about them, families aren’t being exposed either.” As a result, Quincie is focused on helping districts ensure that their CTE programs match their area’s economic needs while simultaneously expanding learners’ opportunities.
Over the next year, Quincie is excited to expand on South Carolina’s work with the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and will delve into creating standards and courses for AI. South Carolina has been very intentional in their approach and diligence in AI and Computer Science as they hope to best prepare learners for the careers of the future. Quincie will also continue to work with SREB on credential quality and rankings to expand South Carolina’s stackable credentials. Quincie looks forward to rolling out a new and required elective course on personal finance this coming fall, as it’s “a great opportunity” for the secondary students of South Carolina.
When asked what challenges Quincie sees in the year ahead, she cited overcoming the lingering impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on learners, families and educators, as well as recruiting and retaining high-quality CTE teachers as the most pressing.
Outside of work, Quincie loves to stay active, playing tennis, walking and swimming; she is an avid fan of music and the television show Yellowstone.
Jodi Langellotti, Communications Associate