May 21, 2026
By BARTON HENLEY
Rutherford County Schools
“Being a principal makes me feel like I’m a rockstar,” Dayna Nichols said.
At Rockvale Elementary School, the job looks quieter than that — a daily conversation with a student waiting for the bus around 2 p.m. or greeting children with hugs in the front lobby each morning.
Principal Dayna Nichols is retiring after 31 years with Rutherford County Schools, including 12 years leading Rockvale Elementary.
“I became so invested in this place,” Nichols said. “I’m going to miss the people in this building the most.”
That connection is what brought her back to the school level after time in the district’s central office. Nichols has served in several roles — from fifth grade teacher at Stewartsboro Elementary to a Title I math teacher at Rock Springs Elementary, and later as an ATLAS program coordinator and human resources supervisor — but found herself missing daily interactions with students.
Each afternoon around 2 p.m., Nichols makes time for a conversation with a student as they wait for the bus — a routine she rarely misses. The student, who is blind, shares stories, ideas and observations, often guided by a huge imagination.
“I watch the clock every day for 2 p.m.,” Nichols said. “I look forward to it each day.”
In the mornings, it was much the same. Nichols stood in the lobby, greeting students as they arrived — often with hugs — creating a sense of familiarity in a school of more than 1,200.
“The students know I care,” Nichols said. “That means something.”
Those relationships didn’t end when students left Rockvale Elementary.
Nichols keeps in touch with former students, including one she met years ago through the district’s ATLAS program, which Nichols founded. That student became close to Nichols, resulting in her helping raise the teen’s young child. The child who lived with Nichols throughout his childhood has graduated and earned a cheerleading scholarship to a major university.
“I consider him one of my children. They’re still part of my life,” Nichols said. “She was a child with a child. She was so appreciative of the help, and I consider them part of our family.”
When Nichols left the district office to take over as principal at Rockvale Elementary, she was nervous about how the community would receive her since she was not from there.
“I am most proud of the fact that I came into a school where the faculty was very close, and I’ve been able to maintain that,” Nichols said.
It wasn’t something she took lightly, especially returning to a school setting after years away from the classroom.
“I had been out of the classroom many years and my biggest fear was that I was going to mess it up,” Nichols said. “But the minute I walked in here, I was on their team, and they would not let me fail.”
Even in a role she describes as “the loneliest job,” leading a school of more than 1,200 students and more than 100 staff members, Nichols said that support made the difference.
“We have a superior school district here,” Nichols said. “I couldn’t be more tickled that Mr. Crutchfield is going to be here leading. My people will be very well taken care of.”
Even in retirement, Nichols said she does not plan to step away completely.
“I’m ready to retire, but I’m not ready to be put out to pasture,” Nichols said.