William “Bill” Coon, ED.D., principal of Meadow Glen Middle School in Lexington County School District One, announced to the MGMS school family on Monday, Nov. 20, that he plans to retire at the end of the 2023–24 school year. Dr. Coon has served as MGMS’s founding principal since 2011.

An educator for 38 years, Dr. Coon is an experienced leader who works to ensure learning is active, challenging, meaningful, public, and collaborative while encouraging teachers to take risks and try new practices. Dr. Coon’s vision as a school leader has been to create an environment where teachers, staff, students and families can all contribute to the development of the school, its programs, and its academics in order to help students be their very best. Dr. Coon believes in the words, “Take care of yourself and take care of each other.”

Dr. Coon began his education career as a social studies teacher and was promoted to assistant principal in 1995 at Alice Drive Middle School in Sumter, S.C. He took over as principal of the school in 1998. Dr. Coon joined Lexington One in 2005 as the founding principal of Pleasant Hill Middle School, which opened in 2006. In 2011 he was tapped to open another school in Lexington One — Meadow Glen Middle, which opened in 2012.

Dr. Coon has earned many awards and accolades during his educational career. He was named the 2016 NASSP State Principal of the Year and is a two-time finalist for the National Silverberg Award. Dr. Coon was also recognized as the Tenenbaum Award Winner in 2006. He received the SC CERRA Friend of Pro-team award and multiple coach of the year awards for his work as a basketball coach.

During his time at MGMS and PHMS, both schools earned multiple Palmetto Gold and Silver awards for academic achievement and closing the achievement gap. PHMS was also recognized as a Red Carpet School and received the School Improvement Council Award for community work and outstanding school culture. MGMS was named a Special Olympics Unified Champion School, a National Mentor School, and a National Credentialed and National Site Seminar School. MGMS also served as a mentor school with 

S.C. State Department of Education on increasing leadership opportunities for teacher leaders at the school level.

Dr. Coon earned a bachelor’s degree from Presbyterian College, a master’s degree from Norwich University and a doctorate degree from Nova Southeastern University.

Dr. Coon is a member of the National Association of Secondary Schools Principals, the South Carolina Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the South Carolina Association of School Administrators, and the South Carolina Association for Middle Level Education Association. He served on the SCASA Middle Level Executive Committee and as the Lower Midlands Director for the South Carolina Association of Middle Level Education; sat on the board of the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement; and chaired the School Leadership Executive Institute group made up of past Tenenbaum Award winners.