B

Hamblen County Schools announced Matt Drinnon, Human Resources supervisor, as the district’s 2022-2023 Supervisor of the Year.

Drinnon, a 25 year veteran of education, has served as the Human Resource Supervisor since spring 2022. He had previously been principal at John Hay for eight years, served as assistant principal at West View Middle School for one year and served as a teacher and administrator in Cocke County.

He served in the classroom for seven years as a teacher at Alpha Elementary before his transfer to Cocke County.

Drinnon was very shocked to be named for such an honor as the district has other supervisors who warrant the title.

“I was very surprised and honored since we have so many deserving candidates,” Drinnon said.

His department’s mission is to serve the staff in the district and he credits his own staff as the reason the department is so successful.

“The Human Resources department is small and I am very fortunate that our Personnel Liaison, Lindsey Reel, and I work well together in a shared vision of serving our employees,” Drinnon said. “Employee pay and benefits make up approximately 85% or so of most school system budgets, so our people are truly our greatest assets. We start with that as our foundation and the work we do stems from that core belief.”

Hamblen County Schools is the biggest employer in the area, and Drinnon said the pace is never slow in his department.

“Our department is responsible for onboarding new employees, managing benefits enrollment and concerns, organizing our system for securing substitute employees, recruiting new applicants for positions within the district, and serving as a point of contact for many of our employees with the district office.” Drinnon said. “We manage leave requests and workman’s compensation claims, work with supporting staff in license renewals, and assist employees with retirement applications and questions.”

As supervisor one of his goals is to work to improve the Grow Your Own “Tomorrow’s Teachers” program, a program that helps people earn teaching certificates.

“I am very excited about the growth trajectory of our Grow Your Own “Tomorrow’s Teachers” program. I have helped to lead an expansion from our original partnership with Walters State and Western Governors University to include an Apprenticeship Program with UT Knoxville and an online ‘job-embedded’ teacher training program with iTeach,” Drinnon said.

“This is in addition to our partnerships with local colleges and universities such as Carson Newman, Tusculum and Lincoln Memorial. We continue to work with other programs and Tennessee’s Grow Your Own Center based at UT Knoxville in developing pathways to increase the number of applicants in our teacher pipeline.”

Drinnon hopes that these programs will help reduce the barriers for individuals who have thought about a career in teaching, but may need a less traditional path to earning a teaching certificate.

With the tireless work he puts into his department, his motivation to keep pushing forward stems from his desire to help the children in the county.

“I have two children, Thomas and Isaac, who are students in the district. With the current national shortage of teachers and other school system employees, I want to help the children of Hamblen County, including my own, have access to high quality teachers in every school, every day,” Drinnon said.

“I hope to use the lessons that I have learned in the past 25 years as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal to recruit and retain teachers and staff to continue improving our school system and community.”

Throughout his experience in the district his favorite aspect is hearing students talk about their dream to teach in the district and help amazing teachers get hired to work for the schools.

“I have been most excited about the opportunities to work with young people in talking about potential careers with our school system and in helping great applicants find positions and begin their journey with Hamblen County Schools.”

Drinnon wants the school district and the county to know that he is committed to continue his work to serve the area.

“I just want our employees and our community to know that the Human Resources Department is committed to serving their needs. Better schools build better communities, and we are focused on doing our part to help our school system continuously improve outcomes for students.”