ROGERS -- Amy Horn says her experience as a teacher, administrator and parent qualify her for the Zone 4 position on the Rogers School Board.
Horn is the sole candidate for the position. Walter Schrader, who holds the seat, announced earlier this year he wouldn't run again.
Profile
Amy Horn
Rogers School Board District 4
Age: 32
Residency: Rogers
Family: Jason Horn, two children
Employment: Director, His House Preschool and Learning Center since 2010
Education: Bachelor’s degree in education and a master of arts degree in teaching from the University of Arkansas
Political Experience: None
At A Glance
School Board Election
Rogers residents can vote absentee or during the Sept. 9-15 early voting period. No polling places will be open on election day Sept. 16. There ‘s no change to the district’s millage, but the millage rate will be up for vote. All voters can cast ballots in the millage election. Voters in Zone 4 can vote for their School Board representative. Zone 4 stretches from Bellview Road to Beaver Lake, and from Pleasant Grove Road south to the Springdale School District. A small section of Zone 4 runs from Olrich Street to Pleasant Grove Road between Dixieland Road and First Street.
Source: Staff Report
At A Glance
School Board Zones
To view a map of the Rogers School District School Board zones, visit www.rogersschools.n… then scroll to the bottom of the page and download the document Rogers_School_Board_Zones.
"This isn't a resume kind of thing for me. I'm passionate about education. It's important from birth on up," Horn said.
She's director of His House Preschool and Learning Center at Rogers First Church of the Nazarene. She was a kindergarten teacher before to taking the director's job in 2010. She's secretary of the Janie Darr Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization. She's a certified early-childhood teacher and consults with Better Beginnings, an Arkansas Department of Human Services program that certifies child care programs as high-quality providers.
As a child, she always wanted to be a teacher, Horn said. As a teacher, she thought she would someday like to be a School Board member. When the position opened up in her zone, the timing seemed right, Horn said.
The world is changing for teachers, Horn said. She understands administrators have to track regulations and balance budgets because that is her job. She will bring a new perspective to the board because she has young children, she said.
"It affects my kids," she said.
She toured district buildings with board members during August. Administrators and students lend schools in Rogers different atmospheres, but children get a solid education at each school, she said.
Horn will offer a voice for elementary schools and teachers, said Valarie Sappington, staff development coordinator at His House Preschool and vice president of the Lowell Elementary School Parent Teacher Association.
"She's there for the big people, but she's also there for the small people," Sappington said.
Rob Yates, student pastor at First Church of the Nazarene, said Horn is very organized. Enrollment at His House Preschool grew from about 75 to 140 under her leadership, Yates said.
"For a School Board member, you want them not to just have that political position, but to have that educational background," Yates said.
Early education should expose children to language, music, singing, reading and developing gross and fine motor skills, Horn said.
The majority of the children enrolled at His House Preschool are 3- and 4-year-olds who are preparing for kindergarten, she said.
"The biggest issue for education is always what is best for the kids," Horn said.
NW News on 09/04/2014