Dr. Wilner Bolden III has 14 years of educational experience. He has made significant contributions to the field of education resulting in improved teacher quality and increased student achievement through the practice of effective leadership. His philosophy of education is the credence that scholarship is not attained by chance; it must be sought with ardor and diligence. Yet, this passion for learning cannot be ignited without the knowledge, motivation, and inspiration of not a “good” but “great” teacher!

Dr. Bolden has served as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal. Furthermore, he has served as a guest orator, university supervisor, and adjunct professor for The University of Mississippi Educational Leadership and Counselor Education Department. Dr. Bolden has implemented school turnaround models and transformed low performing schools into high performing institutions of learning using research-based practices in the areas of cultural building, improving teacher capacity, and implementing systems of accountability.

Dr. Bolden has received numerous of awards and recognition for being an “outstanding school leader”. He was invited to speak at the Mississippi School Board Association in 2011 on effective leadership as a predicate to increased student achievement where he also received the “Torch Award” for excellence in leadership.

" The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth. It is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. Education, whatever else it should or should not be, must be an inoculation against the poisons of life and the adequate equipment in knowledge and skill for meeting the challenges of life.”

Dr. Bolden holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education, a Masters of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction, an Educational Specialist degree in Educational Leadership, and a Ph.D. in Education with a concentration in Educational Leadership from The University of Mississippi. Dissertation: A Contextual Examination of Mississippi’s Principal Preparation Programs and their Impact on Student Achievement.

Awards

• Mississippi Title I Distinguished School Award $25,000 (2011)
• Mississippi Department of Education State Superintendent Letter of Congratulations for Student Achievement (2011)
• Mississippi School Board Association Recognition “Torch Award: Outstanding School Achievement”(2011)
• University of Mississippi Dr. T.P. Vinson Leadership Award 2012 (Finalist)
• University of Mississippi Graduate Achievement Award in Leadership and Counselor Education (2014)