Greenville High School assistant principal Barry Gross has been tapped as the next principal of Highland Home School.

The Crenshaw County Board of Education announced the hire at a special called meeting Monday.

He will replace Joseph Eiland, who took a job with the Department of Education in March.

“I’m excited,” Gross said. “I’m really looking forward to the challenge of being a principal.”

Gross spent just one year at Greenville High School after spending 15 years working as a teacher and assistant principal in Georgia.

He served as assistant principal at Echols County School in Statenville, Ga., for four years prior to coming to the Camellia City.

It was that experience at a school serving kindergarten though 12th grade that attracted Gross to the Highland Home opening.

“I like the community aspect of a unit school,” Gross said. “Highland Home has a strong community with good parent involvement. A lot of the teachers have been at the school for a long time and love it, and have put a lot into it. I’m looking forward to being a part of that community.”

Gross has a background in elementary education and fine arts. He received his bachelor’s degree from Montevallo University before going on to receive his master’s degree from Troy University.