Recruiting the best and brightest to serve in the Aiken County Public School District, the emerging premier school district in South Carolina, is one of the most important tasks facing Tomiko Smalls as each new school year gets underway.
As Director of Human Resources for the District, Ms. Smalls and her team strive each day to attract the nation’s top talent to Aiken County. And in a year in which a number of top educational professionals from other school systems have joined Aiken County Public Schools’ forward momentum to become a premier district, she feels like she has another star to introduce in Ms. Linda Danner Payne, of Summerville. Ms. Payne will serve as the District’s new Recruitment and Staffing Coordinator.
“Both as a person and as a professional, Ms. Payne is an absolute gem,” Ms. Smalls commented. “We interviewed a number of tremendous candidates for this position, but her level of experience and achievements really stood out. Knowing where our District is headed, and what it will take for us to achieve our goals, she was really the right candidate at the right time for us and we are just thrilled to have her on our team and cannot wait for her to get started.”
Ms. Payne comes to Aiken County having served as Human Resources Coordinator of Programs and Partnerships with the Charleston County School District (CCSD), where she spearheaded STEM partnerships with Clemson, The University of South Carolina and Florida State, while also developing programs to enhance Teacher Cadet and other vital programs. During her six years with CCSD, Payne also served as interim director of that district’s Human Capital Development initiative, where she was named as the department’s Employee of the Year in 2013.
Her extensive experience extends into the collegiate arena as well. During three years spent with the College of Charleston (2007-2010), Payne served as the school’s Director of Student Services and Certification. Prior to that assignment, she spent seven years with the South Carolina State Department of Education (2000-2007) as a consultant and Recertification and Mentoring Coordinator.
She says at this point in her career, Aiken County was a perfect fit.
“I was at the point in my career where my children are now on their own, more so than I wish they were sometimes, and now I can make some choices for me,” Payne stated. “Professionally, it was time for a change, and I loved the size of the District and loved the charm of Aiken and just wanted a new place that I could just explore and make my own. It was really an answer to many prayers.”
Payne also has experience in recruitment communications, having served a number of years as a Human Resources Media Strategist with the CCSD in which she developed an effective “We Have a School for You” recruitment campaign and wrote and directed a district recruitment video (teachincharleston.com). Her work establishing meaningful connections with teaching candidates through text and e-mail campaigns has also been impressive, as the annual hiring of around 500 teachers in the Charleston County School District would certainly suggest.
“I was already very familiar with (Superintendent) Dr. Alford having lived in Summerville for so many years, and had heard nothing but amazing things about what was taking place here,” Payne commented. “Once I came here and began meeting with everyone, I knew Aiken County was where I needed to be.”
Payne’s career in education began as many often do – in a classroom – where she quickly established herself as one of the state’s best educators.
During her teaching career, Payne was named Teacher of the Year at two schools (Wilson High, and later Summerville High), she was named as a Top Ten Lowcountry Teacher by The Post & Courier newspaper, as an Honor Roll Teacher in Dorchester District Two, and she received an Outstanding Service Award from the Summerville PTA Association.
“I have been very, very fortunate to have had the experiences that I have had in my career,” Payne added. “I absolutely loved the teaching experiences I had at Wilson High and Summerville High, and thoroughly enjoyed helping establish the Teacher Cadet program as a pilot years ago. Teacher Cadet is in my blood. I was able to be on the ground level there and help build the curriculum and design the entire model, so I am thrilled because I will get to work with that program again.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Alford feels Ms. Payne’s hiring will have an immediate and positive impact upon the District’s efforts to draw top teaching talent to Aiken County.
“With Linda Payne joining the ACPSD team, I can say without hesitation that we’re poised to recruit the most talented educators for Aiken County Public Schools,” Superintendent Dr. Sean Alford stated. “Linda has extensive experience and success in partnership-development, recruitment communications, on-boarding and certification. She will be a tremendous asset to our community and the exciting future of our school system.”
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Link to District Press Release: PR District Recruitment Coordinator