Stacks of papers cover Heather Nix’s desk at Calhoun City Elementary where the first year principal is unquestionably “busy.”
“Getting everything off to the right start; getting everything in the right places; getting to know everybody; and everybody getting to know me – it’s definitely been really busy,” Nix said of her first two months on the job.
The required paperwork can be daunting, but Nix refuses to allow it to keep her from what she sees as her primary objectives.
“There is a lot of paperwork, a lot of office work, but I want to try to stay more involved in the classroom, in the halls, looking at all the kids and finding ways to create the best structured learning environment that highlights their abilities,” she said. “I want to be more involved with the teachers and the students. I want community involvement. This is a good school. We’ve got good kids. We’ve got good teachers and I want what’s best for them.”
Nix is closing in on her 18th year in education. Most of those have been spent in the classroom, but several were in leadership positions such as the “lead teacher” post at Bruce High School. Nix taught third grade reading for seven months of last year at CCES before being moved to the literary coach position working with both the elementary and middle school. Dr. Lisa Langford hired her this past summer as her successor as CCES principal.
“One of the biggest changes for me in this position is my decisions affect everything,” she said. “I have to do what’s best for all sides because it can cause a ripple effect for other kids.”
Nix said she sought out the principal post because she wanted that level of involvement.
“I want the role of bringing the best out of everybody,” she said. “I want to motivate people and make them want to be here, want to teach. I want to show everyone exactly what education has to offer.”
Nix knew from her earliest memories she was destined to be in education.
“My mother and a lot of women in my life were caregivers and taught children,” she said. “It’s just something I always wanted to do. I never really thought about anything else.”
It’s that “care-giving” mentality that Nix brings as a principal and wants to impart on her staff at Calhoun City Elementary.
“I enjoy the staff and the kids here. They are the most welcoming, loving bunch of people. They have self-motivating attitudes, even the kids. The kids want to do good. They want do well, just like the teachers.”
“I want a sense of togetherness here. At the end of the year, I want us to have a sense of accomplishment in that we’ve done the best we could do and it’s not just about numbers. We’re family. We did it together and we took care of each other.”
She makes it perfectly clear her mission as principal is to support her teachers.
“I want our teachers here to have a feeling of knowing we can count on each other. I don’t want them to have to worry about anything else but teaching in the classroom. I’ll fight the ins-and-outs in the office so they can focus on teaching.”
If she can do that, Nix is confident Calhoun City Elementary will be successful.
“We have a good school. We want to show everybody that.”