30 Apr 2024 501Der Women 2024: Janis Horn

Janis Horn never dreamed of being anything but a teacher. “I knew from an early age that teaching was going to be my career path,” she said. A teacher in the South Conway County School District, Horn still feels the same way in her 42nd year teaching kindergarten. 

“It’s so rewarding to watch my kids learn,” she said, adding that she enjoys the role she plays in giving a child “the confidence to know they can do anything if they try hard enough and believe in themselves.” Horn also says she enjoys seeing the “sweet smile on their faces each morning when they walk in my classroom.”

Horn believes that her most rewarding moments come when former students send her emails, write her a letter, visit or tell her they still remember her and share good memories of their kindergarten experience in her class. Horn and a high school teacher also started a mentoring program several years ago called Puppies to Dogs (the Devil Dog being the district mascot) that has come full circle. “The seniors this year were the first kindergartners to participate in the program,” she said.

As she focused on her students, others paid attention. Horn was recognized as the SCCSD Elementary Teacher of the Year in 1990-91, was named the Morrilton Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year in 2003 and in 2016 received the honor of Morrilton Area Chamber of Commerce Educator of the Year.

Of her career and all her accomplishments, Horn is most proud of her daughter, Brittany, and the things she has accomplished. Brittany and her husband, Brent Pettingill, live in Northwest Arkansas with their dog, Chloe, whom Horn claims as the cutest “granddog.”

Horn is also a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Morrilton. She loves spending time with her family and friends, going to the movies, walking and trips to the beach. She loves living in the 501 area because of its year-round beauty and the hometown feeling she gets everywhere she goes.

To young women of today, Horn would say, “Follow your dreams. Do what your heart tells you to do.” That sounds like solid advice from someone who has lived her dream. For 42 years and counting, she still exclaims, “How lucky am I to be teaching our future leaders!”