Pep rallies, walkouts, the eclipse, and threats to the school have made an eventful year for Etowah Principal, Robert Horn. Though there were a multitude of challenges that came his way, Horn, in his first year as principal, looked forward to seeing his students’ excitement each day. 

“[The biggest highlight of the year was] the enthusiasm of the students: everything that went on with prom, SWAE, operation graduation,” Horn said.  

While Horn has overcome many challenges throughout the year, he chooses not to focus on his own personal success, but rather everyone in the school.  He considers his best personal success helping the school, and he considers himself fortunate to have such a good student body and school year. 

“Personal success for me is just trying to do the best job I can for the students and teachers and the school,” Horn said. 

This October, just a few months into his first year at Etowah, Horn faced any principal’s biggest fear: dangerous threats against his school. However, he reacted quickly and professionally to keep the school in order by working with local authorities and reassuring parents. 

“Everything that happened in October was very challenging,” Horn said. 

Horn has done many things this year to improve the school. For example, he worked to implement the Cross-Campus Release bell (CCR) to make the bell schedule more efficient. Next year, he plans on bringing more beneficial change to the school, such as tightening the security to prevent future issues and changing the senior project. 

“There are going to be some big changes to senior projects, but that’s a county thing. I will say there have been several people at Etowah . . .  who have been influential at trying to change senior project,” Horn said. 

Horn also touched on the importance of a quality faculty that supports the students and works hard to keep them safe and how lucky he is to lead such a great group of students. 

“It’s not about any personal success; it’s about students and teachers,” Horn said. 

While this is Horn’s first year at the helm, this year has been incredibly successful for him. Next year, he plans to continue making Etowah even better.