Anitra Nichols can remember the moment when she knew what she would do as her life’s profession.
“I would say I was in elementary school, sixth grade and we had to take some sort of survey, and mine came out with having to deal with social work and children. I knew I wanted that, to work with children,” she said.
With a career in education spanning more than 20 years, Nichols is now the program coordinator and behavior counselor at Grove Street Alternative School. She describes her days as very busy helping both students and faculty. Her daily routine keeps her working with children either through the programs they participate in, or as a confident they can talk to.
“Basically, I do the intake process of the students that come in,” Nichols said of her everyday duties. “I assign them to their different classrooms. We have different programs here at the alternative school and I try to meet the needs of the child.”
Grove Street Alternative School is a non-traditional school and its population changes weekly as students come in. Currently, the school has a discipline day-program, and the Star Academy, which caters to students either behind or struggling to catch up. The day-program assists children who have trouble functioning in a regular school setting. The Star Academy has about 74 students participating in the program and there are over 60 kids in other programs in the school.
“It’s a place where students have made bad choices, and they can come here and get social skills that they need to correct those bad choices they have made. I say this all the time, every child can learn, but every child learns in a different way. We have to just learn how to differentiate the instruction so that they can learn.”
“She’s a caring person, and she looks out for the best of the students,” said Latasha Jackson, the social studies teacher in the Star Academy. “Sometimes she’s a mother-figure for them, with the counseling. She puts on various hats for them. She is the backbone of Grove Street.”
A native of Vicksburg, Nichols graduated from Alcorn State University with a degree in psychology. She stays active in charity events through the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority organization. Recently, the organization held an art fair for local youths. Books were given to young artists at the fair and are distributed to local children out about three times a year through the organization. She is also involved in the Alcorn State University alumni society and sings in the Bingham Memorial Baptist Church’s choir, which she has been a member all her life.
She has two daughters, one is a teacher in the district, and another perusing a degree in early childhood education.
“I love it,” Nichols says reflecting on her work. “I get a joy out of working and helping people. We all make mistakes. To see a child turn around to succeed is rewarding. I had a student who graduated in 2009 from our GED program and went to the service. He called me and thanked me for just being there to encourage him to go on and make something out of his life. That’s the kind of thing that makes it worth it. When they come back after so many years, thank you for your time, it means a lot.”
As for what’s next for Nichols, she wishes to spend more time with one particular child, her grandson.

By Alex Onken
For The Vicksburg Post