After teaching in Lexington District 4 for several years, Salley native Charlene Heard returned to Aiken County in 2014 to become the assistant principal at Chukker Creek Elementary.
Now, after just a year, she's found a new place in her home county as principal of Warrenville Elementary.
"I've heard that Warrenville is very much like a family and that everyone works together, and I've heard from several people that Warrenville feels like it's your home away from home. I'm excited," said Heard. She said she wanted to be a pediatric nurse practitioner growing up but changed to education after participating in the Teacher Cadet program at Wagener-Salley High School.
Heard graduated from Wagener-Salley High in 2001. She attended Busbee Elementary and A.L. Corbett Middle schools in Wagener and graduated from USC Aiken in 2005 with a degree in early childhood education.
She also had extensive teaching experience before becoming an assistant principal, starting as a second-grade teacher before teaching kindergarten and third and fourth grades. She also was a technology instructional coach.
Being the assistant principal at Chukker Creek has been a great training ground for her new position, Heard said.
She's worked with teachers, helping them to improve teaching and learning in their classrooms, and she implemented behavioral interventions for students.
She's dealt with crises when buses weren't running and partnered with parents on the School Improvement Council to improve Chukker Creek's grounds.
She's also worked alongside Principal Amy Gregory.
"She has been great and has taught me a lot," Heard said.
Although she won't start at Warrenville until July 1, Heard has toured the school and talked with current Principal Brad Watson, who is moving to Hammond Hill Elementary, and Assistant Principal Kay Minor.
As the new principal, Heard said she wants to build relationships with teachers, students, parents and the community; continue Warrenville's successes; and address concerns.
"We're going to work to create some goals that we want to accomplish as we go along," she said.
Heard said she loves teaching and seeing her students grow, but believes she has made an even bigger impact in administration.
"In my classroom, I was able to meet the needs of 25 students," she said. "As an assistant principal at Chukker Creek, I worked with teachers to meet the needs of 830 students and also parents and the community.
"It's something to touch the lives of 25, but it's even more to touch the lives of 830 students. I love what I do every day. I'm passionate about what I do. I love making an impact on the lives of students. That's what we're here for - to change lives."
A native of Aiken, Larry Wood is a general assignment reporter. He joined the Aiken Standard in September 2014.