The Northwest R-1 School District is losing its director of technology at the end of the school year.
Cindy Horn, 52, of House Springs is retiring. Her last day as the school district’s technology director will be June 30.
Horn, a 1988 Northwest High School graduate, has worked for the district for almost 29 years, starting as an administrative assistant to one of the superintendents and then moving into a middle-school teaching position. She taught technology, or computers.
At first, she split her time teaching at the former Cedar Hill Middle and former House Springs Middle schools. Then, she taught at Valley Middle School.
After that, she was promoted to instructional technology coordinator for the district and then to director of instructional technology. Two years ago, the district combined the instruction technology and technology director duties into a single position, and Horn has held that job since then.
Horn said she has witnessed lots of improvements in technology during her nearly three decades in education.
“When I started with the district in 1995, it had one dial-up computer,” she said. “Now the district has a computer for every student. We have 6,000 student Chromebooks that connect to the internet. For pre-K through second grade (students) the computers stay at school. For grades three through 12, the students take them home.”
In addition to the Chromebooks, every classroom has a computer, a smart whiteboard, document cameras and other technology, Horn said.
“It’s been amazing to see the advances in technology over the years,” she said. “When I look at where we are now to where we were when I started, getting the technology and resources into the kids’ hands, that’s one of the things that excites me the most, seeing how Northwest has progressed. Everyone’s been so supportive of technology, from the board, to the teachers, the parents – everyone really. The whole community has contributed to that.”
Mark Janiesch, the Northwest district’s chief operating officer, said Horn has been a great asset.
“She is a fabulous person to work with,” he said. “She will be greatly missed and has contributed to the district tremendously through the years. She has been the driver to ensure that the district maintains a robust network for our students and staff. Cindy is very invested and passionate about the district, and the person coming into her place will definitely have big shoes to fill. There is no doubt about that.”
He said the district has begun looking for a replacement for Horn, who is paid $108,089.20 a year.
Horn said during her retirement, she will spend more time with her family.
She said she’s particularly eager to spend more time with her parents, Chester and Sandra Burgett, who live with her and her husband, Mike Horn, who teaches Project Lead the Way engineering classes at Valley Middle School.
The Horns have two adult children – a daughter, Karlee Schmitt, who is a social worker with the district, and a son, Devin Horn, a college student.
Cindy Horn said she also “can’t wait to spend more time with (her dog Juneau), going on walks and other adventures.”
Horn said she will spend more time traveling and crafting, too.
“I love to do crafts. Anybody who knows me knows that’s what I do,” she said. “I cross-stitch, crochet, make paper crafts with my cricut (an electronic cutting machine that cuts designs from paper, vinyl and other materials). It’s fun and relaxing.”
While Horn is looking forward to retirement, she said she will miss spending time at Northwest, which has played a huge role in her life.
“Since kindergarten, I have been at Northwest my whole life, except for the five years I was away in college for my undergraduate and graduate work,” she said. “I truly love Northwest. I bleed blue. It’s going to be weird not being in these hallways.”
She said she will most miss her colleagues and the students.
“I love the people I work with. I’m going to miss them, and I’m going to miss seeing the kids every day,” she said. “Sometimes I go out into the buildings to see the kids and see the learning and the excitement, and I’m going to miss that.
“It feels like family. The people truly care. Everybody’s here for the students; everybody cares about everybody.”