Thomas Horton starts his first full-time role at Tharptown High
Thomas Horton said he is enjoying his first year as a full-time teacher at Tharptown High School. The seventh-grade reading and language arts teacher is experiencing a full circle moment, since he didn’t originally enjoy reading in elementary school.
“I had a reading teacher who helped me find what interested me,” he said.
Several teachers made a huge impact on his life and decisions, and it is a goal of Horton’s to be an influence on students like the influential teachers he needed in high school.
“Hopefully I can make an impact on those kids to be a better citizen,” Horton said.
Horton graduated from the University of North Alabama with a Bachelor of Science in English language arts for grades six through 12. He said it is his goal to get a master’s degree.
“I’m excited to be teaching the seventh grade and to be getting more time to work with the kids on their skills,” he said.
While this is his first full-time teaching job, this isn’t Horton’s first time teaching in Franklin County. Last year he worked at Phil Campbell as a substitute for Jonathan King in agribusiness.
“It’s not my field, but it was a different experience – a learning experience,” Horton said. “It went well. It was fun getting the students involved.”
Horton is also a coach for Tharptown, and it isn’t his first experience with coaching, either. He was an assistant basketball coach at Phil Campbell for a few years before coming to Tharptown.
