Nicole S. Phillips is the new assistant principal at Heritage Elementary School. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Nicole S. Phillips immediately felt a connection while interviewing for assistant principal at Heritage Elementary School.

“Principal Dr. Georgina Nelson and I quickly realized we share a passion for instruction and the work ethic to do whatever it takes to give every child the best education possible,” Phillips said.

For the past seven years, Phillips has been teaching second-, fourth- and fifth-graders at Harvest Elementary School in Madison County Schools.

She worked “with a caring and hardworking group of teachers and administrators. Stephanie Burton and Chris Barlow gave me opportunities to grow from a teacher into an administrator,” Phillips said. “I will miss the Harvest family very much.”

At Harvest elementary, Rachel Melo filled Phillips’s vacancy. “I encouraged her to work with and lean on the wonderful group of second-grade teachers she’ll work with and take every opportunity to learn from others,” Phillips said.

From Harvest, Phillips always will remember a fourth-grader who faced a difficult time last school year. “He struggled academically and gave up when things were difficult. His parents allowed me to push him and show him what he was capable of accomplishing. The smile on his face when he successfully completed an assignment was worth more than any paycheck,” Phillips said.

The student’s father said his son “now knows what’s expected and … is more confident and believes in himself.”

At Heritage, Phillips will help with safety procedures, scheduling, textbook tracking, instructional support and school discipline. “The second part is to support teachers through training, resources and modeling. I look forward to working closely with Dr. Nelson and learning from her expertise in education,” Phillips said.

Phillips received bachelor’s degrees in early childhood education and elementary education at the University of Alabama. At Samford University, she earned a master’s degree in instructional leadership, along with administrative certification.

Her husband Neil works as a chemical engineer at 3M in Decatur. Their daughters are Sydney, 13, an eighth-grader at Monrovia Middle School and Jordan, a sixth-grader at Monrovia.