While some dream of never coming back to high school, others make it a career. One of Etowah’s new assistant principals, Brett Pinckard, reminisced on his time here at Etowah.  

“I am walking the same halls I did before, but now with a completely different perspective and role. At the same time, that perspective gives me a passion for the school because as an alumni, you always want to see your school do well, and now I get to be a part of it,” Pinckard said.  

Before this year, Pinckard taught anatomy and zoology at River Ridge High School. If he looks familiar, that is because Pinckard was also a science teacher at E.T. Booth Middle School for eight years. This is Pinckard’s first year as an administrator. 

“I wanted to do more,” Pinckard said.  

While at Etowah, Pinckard would like to strengthen the community involvement within the classrooms. Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) courses, such as audio and video technology and architecture, give students the opportunity to earn licenses in their respected fields and gain hands-on experience before they even graduate high school.  

“One of my goals is for more community involvement within the CTAE department,” Pinckard said.  

Pinckard graduated from Etowah in 2003 and has noticed some changes from over the years. Community involvement is much greater now than when Pinckard went to Etowah. Community outreach, such as Operation Graduation, Fest at the Nest, and Shop With an Eagle, are all events Etowah has adopted over the years that connect the community together.  

“Involving community businesses gives us the input on the skill sets that the workforce is looking for. Having that information, we can better prepare our students for the workforce, and with those relationships, we can create networks to help our students find opportunities to easily integrate into the workforce,” Pinckard said.  

Pinckard is the only administrator located on the Etowah East campus. Students can often see him monitoring third period lunch or at the Friday night football games.