By Kelly Cantrall

The new principal at John Hardin High School is a familiar face to the school’s staff and students.

Lynne Gibson, an assistant principal at John Hardin, replaces Alvin Garrison. Garrison is leaving at the end of the month to take over as superintendent at Covington Independent Schools.

Gibson was one of the first teachers hired at the school when it opened in 2001, and said, “my heart and my soul is in this school.”

“There’s nowhere I’d rather be, nothing I’d rather be doing,” she said.

Gibson officially begins in the position July 1. The school is in a good place in many areas, she said, so she wants to avoid complacency and keep moving forward.

She will miss the one-on-one interaction with students that comes with being an assistant principal, just as she missed being in a classroom when she became an administrator in 2009. But Garrison worked hard to maintain his relationship with students and she’ll use that as a model, Gibson said.

“And I think that’s important for the kids, too,” she said.

Gibson graduated from East Hardin High School and received post-secondary degrees from Western Kentucky University. She began her teaching career at St. Agnes School in Uniontown. She then taught social studies and worked in special education at North Hardin High School before moving to John Hardin.

Gibson previously was selected to serve as interim principal for the next school year while Garrison took part in the Minority Superintendent Internship Program.