The announcement of Michelle Fisackerly’s appointment as the new assistant principal at Warren Central Junior High (WCJH) brought rounds of applause and cheers at the school board meeting in June. After 23 years in the classroom, she said she is thrilled about her new job.

Fisackerly received her Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education from Delta State. After teaching at West Bolivar Middle School, she returned to Vicksburg and began teaching at Vicksburg High School. She is a familiar face to many, having both taught in the public school system for 20 years and worked with children at the YMCA. She has been at River City Early College (RCEC) for eight years.

She earned the nickname “Coach Fis” after coaching baseball and volleyball.

“Someone asked me if I wanted to coach 9th grade basketball. They remembered me coaching ‘biddy ball’ at the YMCA,” Fisackerly said.

More recently, she has coached volleyball at Warren Central High School.

Along the way, Fisackerly earned two additional degrees, a master’s degree in social science education and a specialist degree in educational leadership. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in educational leadership, with a focus on mental health and grief and loss.

Fisackerly said leaving RCEC is bittersweet.

“I love my RCEC kids,” she said.

She credits fellow staff members there with giving her the confidence to pursue goals outside the classroom setting.

“RCEC made me who I am,” she said. “The leadership there gave me encouragement. The people who surround you make you better. I give them the credit for it.”

Fisackerly said she looks forward to the new challenges of leading eighth graders at WCJH.

“I’ve been reviewing the eighth-grade state testing,” she said, of one of the things she has done to begin preparing for her role as assistant vice principal.

“I have been really humbled this week by all the fabulous comments,” Fisackerly said. “Sometimes, you don’t know how you’re doing as an educator. So, it’s been really humbling. When people clapped at the board meeting, I really didn’t know how to handle that. I got a little teary-eyed.”