When Tharptown High School opened in 2007, Bart Moss said his father Bill Moss, who was superintendent at the time, had big plans for the school to grow. Now Bart Moss is becoming part of the legacy of the school that was his father’s dream, becoming THS principal.

Moss is replacing former principal Ann Scott, who recently accepted a position to serve as principal at West Elementary School.

“I was lucky enough to serve under Mrs. Scott as assistant principal for a year and a half,” Moss said. “In the time I served under her, I learned so much that makes me feel really prepared to do the job.”

Moss said when he first heard the news he had received the principal’s position, he felt blessed by the opportunity to continue helping Tharptown grow and continue to succeed.

“I am so thankful for Mr. Hamilton and the rest of the board for the faith they have in me to do this job,” Moss said.

Franklin County Superintendent Greg Hamilton said he knows Moss will do a great job leading THS.

“You can tell how much he loves Tharptown,” Hamilton said. “I have no doubt he will do great things for the school.”

Along with continuing to grow the school his father predicted would one day be the biggest in Franklin County, Moss said it is also special for him to take over as principal since his oldest son is part of this year’s senior class at THS.

“I have a great bond with the kids in that class and think of most of them like my own children,” Moss said. “It is also going to be a big moment to get to present my son with his diploma on graduation day.”

Moss said education was something which was always around him, having both of his parents involved in education, but he never expected himself to become an educator.

After graduating from Auburn with a business background, Moss went on to teach business in Walker County before deciding education was not for him and stepping away for several years.

Moss said he returned to education approximately 13 years after stepping away from his first teaching position when a job to teach business and economics opened at THS, where he has continued a career in education ever since.

“There is just something about education that is so rewarding because of all the lives you get to touch,” Moss said. “Most of the time the impact you have really doesn’t have anything to do with education but rather the things you get to teach about life.”

Moss said he looks forward to continuing to put his heart into THS to improve the school, with his first goal being to continue working to improve test scores.

“We are now one of the biggest schools, but with that comes some big expectations,” Moss said. “I want Tharptown to be the best, and I want to work every day to get us one step closer to that.”