Mrs. Kathy Dickerson Hipp, an educator of 35 years, is the Superintendent of Anderson County School District 3. Kathy has served Anderson 3 for almost all of her professional career. For eighteen years, she was a biology teacher, coach, guidance counselor, and curriculum specialist at Crescent High School. She worked at the District Office for eleven years as a director and assistant superintendent before being named superintendent in 2016.
Hipp is a 1984 graduate of Crescent High School. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Erskine College in 1988. She also obtained a Master of Education from Clemson University in 1993.
Kathy was a multisport athlete at Crescent High School and Erskine College. She was a 4-year starter in basketball and softball at Crescent and the starting catcher for three State Championship teams and one State Runner-Up softball team. At Erskine, Hipp was a three-sport athlete in softball and basketball, as well as participating in the first-ever women's soccer team at the school. A scholarship athlete in all three sports at Erskine, she was selected as Erskine's softball MVP in 1988. She was inducted into the Crescent High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.
During her tenure as superintendent, the district successfully passed a county Penny Sales Tax to primarily build and open the Anderson Institute of Technology, a visionary career center attended by high school students from Anderson Districts 3, 4, & 5. In addition to AIT, the district has constructed an Athletic Field House, a baseball stadium, a track & field facility, and overhauled the Crescent Stadium. To support the district's strong agricultural program, an on-site FFA open-air arena was constructed, a first for a high school in South Carolina.
Under Kathy's leadership, the district completed a 1:1 technology initiative and launched a robust instructional technology program to support students and teachers using technology. These programs led the district to be one of fifteen to pilot South Carolina's eLearning initiative. Hipp led the implementation of an integrated STEM program in 4K-8th grade and expanded the district's fine arts program to include strings at the middle and high school levels. Anderson School District 3 is now ranked 6th out of 80 school districts in South Carolina.
On July 1, 2021, Kathy was named the 2022 South Carolina State Superintendent of the Year by the South Carolina Association of School Administrators.
Kathy has been married to Tim Hipp for thirty-seven years. They are blessed with three children, Kayla (Jeremy), Tyler (Arielle), and Jared (Lesley), as well as four grandchildren, Beckett, Brixton, Barrett, and James.
Kathy's mantra is, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for man." (Colossians 3:23)
Kathy considers it an honor to serve the parents, children, and teachers of her home district. She is dedicated to the district mission of "Pride, Purpose, Passion" and has the vision for Anderson 3 to be a "Premier" school district in South Carolina. With this mission in mind, she focuses her daily efforts on reminding every employee in the district that "On your worst day, you are someone's best hope."
