Edna L. Toliver Intermediate School has announced its new principal. Renee Lanigan will be stepping into the role on July 1, as former Toliver principal Danny Goodwin takes on the position of principal at Danville High School.

Lanigan said she is excited to be able to provide stability in the role as principal and work toward long-term goals at Toliver.

“It’s home,” she said about the Danville Independent School District and the community. “I know … what everyone hopes for our school system, and I just want to be part of that success. I want to build on the momentum we have.”

She was a third-grade teacher at Jennie Rogers Elementary School when it was part of the DISD, and she later became a reading interventionist at Edna L. Toliver Intermediate School. She taught in the DISD for about 19 years before she became principal at Camp Dick Robinson Elementary School in Garrard County a year ago.

Lanigan lives right outside of Danville, and her children are students in the DISD. She and her husband, Ryan, have been married for 22 years. Her son Aiden will be a senior at Danville High School this year, and her other son, Asher, will be a freshman. For the past six years, she and her husband have also been foster parents to additional children.

“My kids are die-hard Admirals,” Lanigan said. “They have been in Danville Schools since kindergarten, so I’m an Admiral through-and-through. I’m passionate about the Danville community and the success of our students.”

My kids have received a rock star education, and I tell everybody I would never move them anywhere else,” she said about her own children. “I am so excited that they are the people they are today because of the community of Danville. I’m proud of the education my own children have received there, and I cannot wait to see what they do in their future.”

Additionally, she said she knows many of the Toliver staff and students by name already, and she looks forward to getting to know new people. As far as some of what she is looking forward to at Toliver, she wants to focus on building the culture of the school and organizing more events like last year’s Hispanic Heritage night at Toliver, and also infusing fun into the lives of the staff.

“Work is work, but work can also be fun, and the more fun we have, and the more we bond as a staff, the more effective we’re going to be for our students,” she said.

About her goals with students, she said, “I want to help them be more aware of their current progress and then work on goal-setting for their future. I want them to own their future success. Goal-setting with students would be huge for me.”
Superintendent Ron Ballard, who made the selection of Lanigan as Toliver’s new principal after consultation with the School-Based Decision Making (SBDM) Council, said he “could not be happier” that Lanigan is returning to the DISD.

“She’s not originally from the community, but she is full Admiral,” he said.

“She knows our district,” he continued. “She knows our student population. She truly is a person who loves working with our families.”

He described her as an educator and administrator who is data-driven, a quality that he said “really does create an environment where you do what’s best for kids.”