Brundidge residents will soon be seeing a familiar face at Pike County Elementary School.

Willie Wright, former Pike County High School assistant principal, was approved as the new PCES principal by the Pike County Board of Education at its meeting Monday.

PCS Superintendent Mark Bazzell said the pairing of PCES and Wright will be a good one.

“He’s been there in Brundidge for five years as an administrator,” Bazzell said. “He’s well-liked by the people in Brundidge, and he’s well-respected as well. It’s just a very good fit. He’s young, but he has a good rapport with people, and I think he’ll do a good job there.”

Wright spent five years at PCHS as an assistant principal, but will now lead PCES in the 2010-11 school year and beyond.

“I’ve been at the high school, so I know what is expected of the kids there, and I’m looking forward to being able to start introducing the sixth graders to what they can expect at the high school,” Wright said.

Wright spent three years at Eufaula High School as a coach before coming to Pike County, an opportunity he said has been invaluable to his career.

“It was just great to be able to get the opportunity to interact with the kids on another level,” Wright said. “I was able to try other things besides coach, which is all I had done before.”

Wright also gave his thanks to Bazzell, the board and PCHS principal Mike Hall.

“I just want to thank Dr. Bazzell and the board for giving me the opportunity,” Wright said. “I also want to thank Dr. Hall for supporting me for these last five years and showing me the way to be an administrator.”

With the PCES principal opening now filled, PCS must now fill the Goshen High School principal opening, as well as the Pike County High School assistant principal opening.

The Goshen job has been open since the end of the 2009-10 school year, but Bazzell said a recommendation could be made at the next board meeting, which is set for July 12.

“The closing date has passed, and we have received all applications,” Bazzell said “We are still reviewing those applications, so there have not been any interviews lately. We’re going to work with this process for the next two weeks until we get where we need to be.”

The assistant principal opening at Pike County High School was posted today. In other action, the board approved the sale of a surplus school bus.