KINDNESS is the key
Longtime Sulphur Rock school employee reflects on career, honored with playground
Johnnie Moore moved her family from Reyno to the small town of Sulphur Rock in 1982 when her husband, James, took a job with a local trucking company.
“Before I even started looking at houses, I wanted to know about the schools in the area,” Moore said. “I picked Sulphur Rock because it was smaller than most, and it ended up being the perfect fit for my family.”
Once the Moore family was situated in the Sulphur Rock School District and her husband started his job, Moore decided to look for employment, and that’s when her legacy with the school district began, she said.
Moore said her first position at Sulphur Rock Elementary School was working in the lunchroom, and after taking a small break when her husband started a new position driving trucks for Walmart Inc., she went back to the district as a substitute teacher.
“I was at a point where I didn’t know what to do with myself, so going back to work was the best decision I could have made,” Moore said. “I loved being back around the kids and knew I was where I needed to be.”
Moore continued to substitute-teach and decided to apply for an aide position in the school’s special education department. Once the job was hers, Moore assisted students who needed extra help in their classrooms with reading, writing and math.
Moore remembers the day she knew this was her calling: She was on a field trip with a class at the bowling alley.
“One of my students I was helping in a reading class was yelling my name and showed me the word ‘pop’ on the side of an arcade game,” Moore stated. “The student told me the game had her word, and that’s the day I knew this was my calling.”
Moore recalled thinking that all she ever wanted to do was make a difference in a child’s life, and that day, she realized she had done that.
From that day on, Moore said, she was asked to start working with children who needed a little extra help, and she would work with them directly until she felt they could move forward in their studies.
“I did this job until I retired last month,” she said.
According to other teachers, staff and parents, Moore, during her 33-year career with the school district, did more than just her job.
Stacey Lindsey, now Batesville High School’s principal, was the principal at Sulphur Rock until two years ago. Lindsey said Moore had her hand in just about every aspect of Sulphur Rock. From spearheading fundraising efforts to making sure each kid was in the car-rider or bus line after school to serving as sports director, Moore wore many hats on a daily basis in order for things to keep running smoothly.
“Johnnie is one of the strongest women you will ever meet and is irreplaceable at work,” Lindsey said. “She is a worker who is not afraid of physical labor, can organize a party cleanup, is a team player and is the heart of her school. She is one of those people who will never be forgotten.”
When the small Sulphur Rock School District was consolidating with the Batesville School District, Moore was offered a position at Batesville High School but decided to stay at what became Sulphur Rock Magnet School.
“I wanted to stay and keep ‘The Rock’ one of the best schools in the area,” Moore said.
Ted Hall recalled his first year as principal at Sulphur Rock and that Moore was key to making his transition very easy.
“She was such a great support for me during that time,” Hall recalled. “It wasn’t easy coming into a new school during a consolidation, but she made it easy for everyone.”
Hall also remembered how Moore’s main focus was always on the students and what was going to be best for them.
“Not only did she care about her community and those in the community,” Hall said, “but she cared so much about those kids and what they needed. It was obvious that she loved the Sulphur Rock Wildcats because her kids went to that school, but to see her take initiative and jump right on board when the change happened and we became part of the Batesville School District, it made it easier for everyone to follow suit when she did because she knew that it was what would ultimately be the best for the students and the community. This has always been more than a job to Mrs. Johnnie.”
One of the things Moore has been passionate about is upgrading the playground equipment on the Sulphur Rock campus, and with the help of the Parent Teacher Organization group FANS, it looks like the upgrade will take place sooner than later.
According to FANS member Kassie Foree, the playground is in need of a face-lift, and after touring the area, she decided to help raise the funds to secure a new playground for the kids.
“The needs for a playground are 100 percent validated,” Foree said. “Ms. Johnnie was able to secure a $7,500 grant and matching donation for playground equipment, but that wasn’t enough to kick start a playground overhaul. Knowing how much heart and soul she has poured into this school, FANS felt the best way to honor her was to raise money for the new playground.
“We want to name it Ms. Johnnie’s Playground in her honor, so everyone will know how much she is loved and adored. Especially with the passing of her husband, we felt this was a way to show her how much we all care.”
With the help of the community and social media, FANS has raised $55,000 for the playground.
“We are still looking into grant opportunities, as playground equipment is very expensive,” Foree said. “Rawk Imprinting, a local business, is also selling T-shirts with Ms. Johnnie’s infamous saying about kindness on them, and all the proceeds will go toward the new playground as well.”
Moore isn’t going anywhere, even though she has retired, as her hope is to continue to volunteer at the school, when she can, and spend more time with her family.
Each day, as the students start their schoolwork, they will hear Moore’s famous quote over the loudspeaker: “Work hard, and be kind to everyone.”