Dr. Anthony GossWalker County Teacher of the Year Dr. Anthony Goss is celebrating a recent promotion to Ridgeland High School assistant principal.
“I just got promoted to assistant principal for the fall,” said Goss, who is stepping down from his role of choral director which earned him the Walker County Teacher of the Year status. “I will be one of four assistant principals. The chorus director position is open now for hire.”
This is Goss’ second time to earn Walker County Teacher of the Year. He also accepted the award in 2001 when he taught chorus at Rossville Middle School. He has taught chorus for 23 years. He taught chorus at RMS for 13 years and served Ridgeland’s chorus for 10 years.
“I’m very honored to have received this award for the second time,” he said of the Teacher of the Year award. “I feel humbled that I was selected among those chosen. They are all excellent educators and I would like to recognize them as well.”
Four of Goss’ students made the 2016 Georgia All-State Chorus: Emma Jones, Nolon Barry, BreeAnna Alexander and Sandro Iglesias. In addition, at the recent Georgia Large Group Performance Evaluation, his students received “superior” ratings from the judges, the highest rating any musical group can receive.
“I took a select group to Universal Studios in Orlando to the Music USA Festival,” said Goss. “We received the first and second place trophy. I had two choirs in it. We also received the Grand Champion Award. My women’s group sang ‘South African Suite,’ a series of three Swahili folk songs. The women’s group also did ‘Musica Dei Donum Optimi.’ It’s a Renaissance piece. The women’s group got second place. My mixed group of women and men performed ‘Sing Me to Heaven’ and ‘The Conversion of Saul.’ They won first place.”
Goss received his Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Arts in English both from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He completed his Masters of Education at Indiana University and his Doctorate in Education at Capella University.
“I’m excited to be the assistant principal,” he said. “It’s my next logical step in education. It’s a way to impact students on a larger scale – the whole student body. The news was sad to my students. They will miss me and I will miss them.”
Goss said one of his former students went on to record Christian music and another student teaches music at a middle school.
“Even if they don’t pursue music, they remember it,” he said. “When students take chorus it makes them a more rounded person. A lot of kids tell me they would not have completed their diploma without chorus. Chorus is a lifelong skill they are developing. Twenty years from now, they will remember their music class.”
In his new role as assistant principal, Goss said he will handle professional development and oversee credit recovery, which allows students to retake courses they failed.
“They take different subjects in the same class,” he explained. “The mission of every teacher in Walker County is ‘Ready for College, Ready for Work, Ready for Life.’ I focused on that as a chorus teacher, but now even more as an assistant principal.”