About James Payne

Head of Schools

Mr. James Payne, a proud native of Adel, Georgia, brings 18 years of dedicated service to education, marked by a distinguished reputation for advancing student achievement. After earning his undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education from Georgia Southern University, Mr. Payne began his impactful journey in school leadership within the Fulton County School System. His roles as principal, assistant principal, data support specialist, and teacher leader allowed him to drive positive changes in the classroom and empower teachers.

In 2011, Mr. Payne was honored as a Georgia Master Teacher, a recognition of his exceptional contributions to student achievement and growth on state-mandated standardized tests. His recent position as a School Leadership Coach with Instructional Empowerment involved guiding schools in turnaround status. Under his mentorship, three out of four schools saw an improvement in their accountability metrics.

As a principal, Mr. Payne achieved remarkable results, leading his school off Georgia’s failing schools list. His leadership elevated the school’s overall letter grade from 58.6 (F) to 83.5 (B). For four consecutive years (2016–2019), the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement recognized the school as a Beating the Odds school. In 2019, the school also earned its first-ever Title I Reward School designation. Notably, the percentage of students reading on or above grade level rose from 52% to 70%, and proficiency levels on the state’s end-of-grade reading assessment increased from 23% to 41% under his guidance.

In his role as assistant principal, Mr. Payne significantly enhanced student outcomes, improving his school’s accountability score by 17 points and achieving notable gains in Math, Reading, English Language Arts, and Science.

A lifelong learner, Mr. Payne is deeply committed to ensuring equitable access to high-quality learning opportunities for all students. He is excited to join the KIPP Atlanta team and is dedicated to further improving student outcomes.