From the Profile 2025 magazine

By Galen Holley

Working with children is a natural fit for Nikki Mills, and she started when she was just a kid herself. 

“My little sister is six years younger than me, and I loved teaching her sight words and spelling words and helping her grow,” said Mills, the principal at North Delta Elementary School.

A Panola County native, Mills is also a former high school basketball player and cheerleader who now coaches both. Her service to her neighbors extends beyond the classroom, into the wider community. Whenever and wherever she can, Mills tries to give back to the community. 

“I realized that this is where God wanted me to be, and I truly enjoy what I do,” she said. 

Classroom Calling 

Mills is a 2006 graduate of North Delta High School. From there she went to Northwest Mississippi Community College, where she earned her associate’s degree. She took some time off, got married to her husband, Tyler, now a captain with the Panola County Sheriff’s Department, and worked at a bank. 

Mills eventually decided to go back for her bachelor’s degree at Ole Miss, then in 2011 took a job teaching first grade at Pope Elementary School. 

During her 10-year stint as a first grade teacher, she earned her master’s degree in literacy as well as a specialist degree in educational leadership from Ole Miss, along with receiving her national board certification in early childhood education. (She started her master’s studies online, just hours after giving birth to her second child.) 

Mills moved on to teach seventh and eighth grade reading for a year and, during that time, started as the assistant girls’ basketball coach at North Delta High School. After 11 years in the classroom, Mills stepped away to take a job at her father’s trucking company. It turned out to be a break of just a year. 

“Pretty much out of the blue, I was offered the job as principal here at North Delta,” said Mills, noting that she’d applied for the job years before but hadn’t gotten it. She was surprised and elated to get the offer. “I had to take a second and refocus my life,” said Mills. 

Great Example 

Mills is now in her second year back as an educator and administrator and she’s tremendously happy. She said that her work brings her deep fulfillment. “I love seeing that lightbulb come on when a child really gets it, when they learn a new skill or a new word,” said Mills. “There’s nothing quite like that feeling.” Mills and her husband have two children, Logan, 16, and Darby Grace, 11. The kids are into sports, including travel, diamond sports, so theirs is a busy, on-the-go family. 

Throughout her career in education, Mills, also a life member of the Junior Auxiliary, has made many friends, and they hold her in the highest regard.

“We worked together for several years at Pope School,” said teacher Allison Hand. “She was a great mentor to me when I started teaching first grade. Nikki is a wonderful person, teacher and leader. I could go on and on with great things to say about her. She has become a very good friend of mine since I first began working with her.” 

Emily Vick was co-teacher with Mills at the junior high level, and said that her longtime friend and colleague has a special way in the classroom. 

“She has a great relationship with the kids,” said Vick, both of whose children were Mills’s students. “She communicates extremely well with students. She was a great basketball player in high school, and she’s become a great coach and a real example, both on and off the court.” 

Having been a teacher herself, Mills has a deep appreciation for the challenges and rewards they face in the classroom. She considers herself one of them.

“I don’t want to be a boss, but a leader,” said Mills. “Our teachers have great ideas, and it’s my privilege to work with them.” 

After all, Mills said, teachers are often unsung heroes.

“Teachers may not get paid a lot, but they receive appreciation in ways that make them feel really fulfilled, like when a student says ‘I love you for all that you taught me,’” said Mills. “It’s hard to put a price on that.”