By: Matthew Phillips

Pike County Elementary School (PCES) recently announced Will Nettles as the new assistant principal for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year. 

With eight years of combined experience in education, Nettles is eager to build strong connections with students, staff and the broader community.

Growing up in Evergreen, Alabama—a small, close-knit town much like Brundidge—Nettles feels a special connection to the area. Reflecting on his move, he shared, “Pike County reminds me of Evergreen, a community that takes pride in the school system.”

He emphasized the importance of serving not just the school but the entire community within PCES’s zoned areas. “When we introduced ourselves yesterday, I shouted out to Brundidge because I want to serve not just Pike County Elementary, but Pike County as a whole,” Nettles recalled.

Nettles’s journey in education began as a paraprofessional at Hillcrest High School, his alma mater. After earning his bachelor’s degree from Auburn University at Montgomery in 2018, he spent four years as a teacher and assistant girls’ basketball coach at Charles Henderson High School. He then served as assistant principal at Monroe County High School before returning to Troy, where he was the assistant principal at Troy Elementary School for the past two years.

When asked what excites him most about his new role, Nettles highlighted the core of his educational philosophy: “Building relationships with the students and teachers and building relationships with the stakeholders as well—making an impact on all those stakeholders, especially the kids.”

Nettles looks to bring his positive attitude to the Brundidge community and Pike County Elementary.