New Harlan High School Principal Stacy Noah knew at a young age that she would work in education.

Noah was raised in a family of educators, and since her high school graduation, the 13-year education veteran said she never questioned what field she wanted to pursue.

"My father, Perky Bryant, who was assistant principal at Cawood High School when I was in high school, has always been a big inspiration to me," Noah said. "And my mother was my math teacher at Loyall Junior High. They both ingrained in me a long time ago a love and a respect for this profession, and I always somehow knew that education would be my path in life."

Noah is returning to the Harlan Independent School District, where she had previously served as the assistant high school principal for five years under Sheila Smith, who resigned at the end of the school year to accept a principal position at Middlesboro High School. She has spent the last three years employed at the Harlan County Schools Central Office.

Noah said she feels she learned a great deal about curriculum implementation while she worked as an achievement gap coordinator and that knowledge base will give her the foundation she needs as Harlan High School's new instructional leader.

What she's most looking forward to, however, in her new role as principal is the daily interaction with the students.

Noah said she is also anxious to play a part in the academic success of the high school, noting Harlan possessed an impressive reputation for excellence in performance and that she considered it an honor, plus a great deal of responsibility, to not only continue that tradition, but to propel the school even higher.

"Education is the center of everything in the world," Noah said. "I loved Harlan County so much I decided to stay, and I want that for others as well. Knowing that I have a hand in the education of Harlan County's population, that is something I take very seriously."

Harlan Independent Schools Superintendent David Johnson said he was "very pleased" to have Noah return to his district.

"She proved herself to be a highly professional administrator when she worked in our district several years ago," Johnson said. "Because of her training and recent experiences, Mrs. Noah now brings even more expertise that will benefit our students in her new position as principal of Harlan High School. She has shown herself to be an instructional leader with strong academic values."