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She had been assistant principal at Fern Creek since 2010 and interim principal since August 
By Toni Konz Tatman | JCPS Communications
Rebecca Nicolas has been selected as the new principal of Fern Creek High School.
Nicolas has spent her entire 20-year career with Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS). She taught English at Ballard and Doss high schools, before becoming an assistant principal at Doss from 2005-2008.
She became an assistant principal at Fern Creek in 2010 and has been interim principal since August 6, when Nate Meyer was promoted to an assistant superintendent of school turnaround for the district.
“Dr. Nicolas is an experienced administrator who has been instrumental in the transformative work at Fern Creek High School,” said Glenn Baete, the district’s assistant superintendent of high schools. “We all look forward to her taking Fern Creek to even higher levels as the school’s new leader.”
Nicolas will start her new role immediately.
“Fern Creek’s story has taught me that hard work, positive momentum, and resilience can transform a school,” Nicolas said. “I am so proud to be a member of this school. I want everyone to know what an extraordinary place this is. Continuing our work and refining our practices will be the driving force of my tenure here.”
Nicolas says she was driven to seek the top job at Fern Creek to continue the school’s rich tradition of quality classroom instruction, collaborative practice and guaranteed recovery systems for all students.
“We are a true community school and have a lot of pride in what we do,” she said. “We have families who have lived nearby for generations and who are proud to be alumni. We have great academic, sports and ROTC programs. There is just a great sense of tradition here and I can’t wait to see what comes next.”
During her time at Fern Creek, she helped create and monitor the school’s College Going Culture initiative with a focus on admission, enrollment, and retention for at-risk student populations.
Nicolas also helped create the Ivy Plus program, which is designed to connect high-achieving students with the nation’s top colleges. As part of the program, teachers help find the right school for individual students. It also provides access to elite college admission counselors and in-school visits.
“Ivy Plus is a really great opportunity for us to showcase that all means all – we have students from every different background and they should all have equal access to a high quality education,” she said.
Nicolas became part of the administrative team in place at Fern Creek when the school entered priority school status and worked to help the school exit priority status in the first year it was eligible.
“That was probably one of my most favorite moments here, when we exited priority school status,” she said. “We worked really hard to prove to everyone and to ourselves that we could do it and we did.”
Nicolas says she always wanted to be an educator. She has spent the vast majority of her career working with disadvantaged students.
“I feel like I have been called to work in schools with students who have enormous potential,” she said. “I absolutely love helping them realize all that they can accomplish.”
Nicolas earned her bachelor's degree in English from Centre College, her master's degree in English from Wake Forest University and her doctorate in educational leadership from Spalding University.
She and her husband are the parents of twins – a 10-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter.
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