Message from the Superintendent | |
|
I want to thank each one of you for your hard work so far this school year! Our theme for the year is “Peace, Love, and Excellence.” This theme goes well beyond our tie-dye shirts! With the disruptions of the pandemic hopefully behind us, we are focusing on a Return to Excellence. We are working to identify gaps in learning and address them as quickly as possible.
In addition, we will continue our emphasis on the theme “Remember Your Why.” That will be our overarching theme throughout my time as superintendent. Please keep in mind the reasons why you chose your career and wanted to work with children. We’ll also continue the “Remember Your Why Award,” so please consider if there is a deserving co-worker or student you want to nominate for this honor.
| |
|
Leadership Project Offers Classroom Supplies
Teachers who need supplies for their classroom can now receive help from the Hopkins County Teacher’s Locker. This project was part of the 2019-2020 Leadership Hopkins County Program. While Covid initially delayed the project, we are excited that the Teacher’s Locker is now open!
Team members surveyed district staff to find out their biggest supply needs. With the support of community partners, the room is stocked with basic supplies and has the potential to grow with future donations and support.
The Teacher’s Locker, located at 755 Industrial Road, Madisonville, is open from 3-4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Teachers should call 270-824-0320 to make an appointment. It is open to teachers at any school in Hopkins County.
Leadership Hopkins County team members include Wade Walters of US Bank; Katie Mills, Hopkins County extension agent for 4-H youth development; Lacey Phillips, procurement specialist with the city of Madisonville; Nick Spoonmore, VP of operations for Baptist Health Deaconess; and Eydie Tate, CFO of Hopkins County Schools.
Business partners include Kentucky Education Association, First United Bank, US Bank, Walmart Community Grant, Lowe’s, Wester’s Body Shop, Greenville, KY, Leadership Hopkins County, and Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce. Thanks go out to everyone who helped with this amazing project for our teachers!!
| |
Outstanding District Award | |
|
Hopkins County Schools has been named an Outstanding District by Advance Kentucky.
We were recognized because of our amazing success for our first year in the middle school Access to Algebra program through Advanced Kentucky. All four of our middle schools met their goals for the first year in the Access to Algebra program. Our schools increased student achievement and performance on the PSAT 8/9 in reaching the college readiness benchmark. Hopkins County middle schools are participating in Cohort 5 of the program and will be entering their second year for the 2022-2023 school year. This program seeks to increase the number of students on track to meet college readiness math benchmarks by the time they enter high school. Congratulations to everyone involved!
| |
Rising Leaders Academy
Applications Due Sept. 15
If you have ever considered being a leader in the district, whether that be an Instructional Leader, Counselor, Assistant Principal, or Principal, then the Rising Leaders Academy is for you. If you have already taken all the coursework for counseling or administration and you have never been in the seat, then the Rising Leaders Academy is for you! This is a great opportunity to get a look at the “behind the scenes” of school leadership and administration and participate in opportunities to better prepare you for the future that you want!
The application is live on the district job opportunities page and will be open through Thursday, September 15.
Additional Information
| | |
Gates Named Teacher of Year Semifinalist | |
|
Hopkins County Board of Education honored Pride Elementary School 5th grade teacher Kelly Gates on Aug. 1. Gates is a semifinalist for the 2023 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Award. She is among 24 educators who were named Valvoline Teacher Achievement Award winners in July. She is one of just three semifinalists for the Elementary School Teacher of the Year Award and 11 semifinalists for Kentucky Teacher of the Year!
The semifinalists were chosen based on their scores from the first round of judging, which was conducted by a blue-ribbon panel of veteran educators. Applications included nominees’ teaching philosophies, teaching experiences, involvement in their respective communities and letters of recommendation.
Interviews, combined with their application scores, will result in the selection of the 2023 Elementary, Middle and High School Teachers of the Year. The finalist with the highest cumulative score will be named the 2023 Kentucky Teacher of the Year and will go on to represent the state in the 2023 National Teacher of the Year competition.
“These award-winning teachers represent more than 40,000 of their colleagues from every school district in Kentucky who continue to serve their students and the teaching profession,” said KDE Commissioner of Education Jason E. Glass. “I congratulate them and thank all Kentucky teachers for their outstanding efforts every day to help prepare Kentucky’s students for successful futures.”
| |
Deeper Learning Teacher Leaders | |
|
Ten Hopkins County teachers have been selected to participate in the Deeper Learning Teacher Leader cohort. This three-year program is being offered in partnership with the West Kentucky Educational Cooperative through a grant opportunity.
Deeper learning is “an umbrella term for skills and knowledge students must possess to succeed in 21st century jobs and civic life. At its heart is a set of competencies students must master to develop a keen understanding of academic content and apply their knowledge to problems in the classroom and on the job."
Participants are the following: Brooke Stuart, Earlington Elementary; Becky Fulkerson, Hanson Elementary; Melanie Hofmann, Jesse Stuart Elementary; Heather Gordon, Pride Elementary; Keaton Frazer, West Broadway Elementary; Brittany Dillingham, Browning Springs Middle; Heather Wagoner, James Madison Middle; Sarah Buchanan, South Hopkins Middle; Sarah Tyson, Hopkins County Central; and Brian Welch, Madisonville North Hopkins.
| |
|
Shannon Bowles, guidance counselor at Hopkins County Day Treatment was honored by Hopkins County Board of Education on Aug. 15 for receiving the 2022 Outstanding Support Staff Award from the Kentucky Educational Collaborative for State Agency Children.
In the KECSAC awards presentation, Bowles was described as someone with a big heart who always sees the best in students. She is an effective and caring counselor who will have the tough conversations students need while making sure they feel at home at the school.
This award is in recognition of outstanding leadership and service. KECSAC is a statewide collaborative that works with state agencies, school districts, and local programs to ensure state agency children receive a quality education comparable to all Kentucky students. Bowles considers serving children and youth in state care a calling, and goes above and beyond every day!
| |
Sunrise School Spirit
Hopkins County Central High School celebrated with a “luau” for the 14 News Sunrise School Spirit Pep Rally on Sept. 2, complete with a sandcastle built of canned goods. Students and staff, local businesses, schools throughout our district, and the entire community responded generously to the call for donations of nonperishable food. The school collected a grand total of 14,970 pounds of food!
The food went to TriState Food Bank and will be distributed back to Hopkins County agencies. Thanks so much to everyone who participated and donated!
| | |
|
Hopkins County Schools honored the 2021-2022 Employees of the Year during #TeamHopkins Day. Award recipients include the following:
- Food Service Employee of the Year - Kathy Mitchell, Pride Elementary School
- Facilities Management Employee of the Year - Carol Huddleston, Hopkins County Central High School
- Transportation Employee of the Year - Tim Buchanan
- Secretary of the Year - Christi Gast, James Madison Middle School
- Central Office Employee of the Year - Donna Todd, Finance Department
- Classified Support Service Employee of the Year - Shanda Hughes, Grapevine Elementary School
- Elementary School Teacher of the Year - Melanie Hofmann, Jesse Stuart Elementary School
- Middle School Teacher of the Year - Brittany Marsh, South Hopkins Middle School
- High School Teacher of the Year - Sonya Shockley, Hopkins County Career & Technology Center
- Administrator of the Year - Lauren Wood, Hopkins County Career & Technology Center
| |
|
Hopkins County Education Foundation has awarded 18 mini-grants to teachers in Hopkins County. Total funding approved is $8,466.46. The list of approved projects follows:
- Amy Crabtree, Hopkins County Central HS, Accessible and Approachable Novels for All, $496.63
- Christie DePriest, Browning Springs Middle, Empower Students Through Hands-on Learning, $500
- Ashley Durbin, Jesse Stuart Elementary, Building Positive Relationships Through Literature, $490.56
- Sara Edwards, Madisonville North Hopkins HS, Pampered Pups, $500
- Alan Emerson, Randy Adams, Cory Mullins, Sarah Emerson, Madisonville North Hopkins HS, Utilizing the software and hardware of the “Yamaha Harmony Director,” $500
- Keaton Frazer, West Broadway Elementary, Projected Based Learning in Social Studies, $240
- Melanie Hofmann, Jesse Stuart Elementary, Clay, Papier-Mache, and Self-Portrait Projects, $499.57
- Justin Hundley, Grapevine Elementary, Math Toolkits for Second Grade, $500
- Adam O’Rear, Career & Technology Center, Field Trip to Toyota Manufacturing Plant, $500
- Donna Potts, Jesse Stuart Elementary, All Hands On Deck, $500
- Taylor Ruth, Jesse Stuart Elementary, Magna-Tile Manipulatives, $500
- Amanda Sarles, Grapevine Elementary, A Game of Computer and Mouse, $239.70
- Jamie Scott, Career & Technology Center, Manufacturing Through CNC Machining, $500
- Makayla Sweeney, South Hopkins Middle, Band Literature, $500
- Laura West, Jesse Stuart Elementary, Read-aloud Ready, $500
- Ashton Wheatstine, Earlington Elementary, Choice-Based Art Stations, $500
- Nathan Woodruff, Browning Springs Middle, Advanced STEM Camera Equipment, $500
- Ashlee Zimmer, Jesse Stuart Elementary, Hands-On Science, $500
| |
'Remember Your Why'
Award
| |
Submit Nominations Now for 2022-2023 | |
Shanda Hughes
Shanda Hughes, a CIA at Grapevine Elementary School, received the Remember Your Why Award at the Board of Education meeting on June 20. Her role encompasses so much more than her job as SOS CIA! She is the first friendly face students see each morning in the car rider line. She is the person pulling students out for work on sight words and fluency. She is also the first one that will tell students to straighten up and share a lesson on how to make better choices while also being the first to offer a hug. She takes care of staff by decorating offices for appreciation days, lending a hand when needed, and organized a T-shirt fundraiser for a co-worker battling cancer. She is loved by staff and students and embodies the theme, One Team, One Mission One Community!
When asked her why, Mrs. Hughes said, “My why #1 is the students – they need someone extra in their life that will dance with them when they reach goals, talk to them outside of their class and, yes, show some tough love if they are going in the wrong direction. Why #2 is coworkers/framily. They also need someone extra in their lives that will run those last-minute copies, give them a mental moment, let them have a potty break or supply them with needed emergency chocolate. All and all, my why is I do what I do because I love what I do!
| |
|
Sonya Shockley
Hopkins County Career & Technology Center business instructor Sonya Shockley received the Remember Your Why Award at the Board of Education meeting on June 6.
Shockley deserves this recognition because of the difference she makes in the lives of her students, according to the two people who nominated her. She teaches her students skills that they will use for the rest of their lives. She equips them with knowledge of the newest technology and software so they are ahead of the typical high school student. She spends countless hours after school preparing quality lessons and creating fun projects. Mrs. Shockley greets each student at the door, gives them real-world projects, and reaches out to anyone who misses class to make sure they are ok. There was low interest in the business program when she came to the CTC. That quickly changed, and there was a waiting list for the classes at the end of her first year. She goes above and beyond every day to take care of students and make sure they are smiling and in a great state of mind to learn!
Shockley said her “Why” is that she gets to share in the learning experiences of her students and celebrate in their victories!
| |
|
Jack Wagoner
Jack Wagoner, a senior at Madisonville North Hopkins High School last year, received the Remember Your Why Award during the Board of Education meeting on May 16 for his helpful actions at Olympic Field Day. A 4th-grade student had put his glasses in a dollar store bag during Olympic Field Day and left the bag near the basketball station. He didn’t realize the bag was missing until it was time to load the bus. Staff started asking if anyone had seen the bag or knew whether it had been thrown away Jack stepped up and said they had just taken the trash off. He ran up the hill to the dumpsters and was able to retrieve the bag that included the student’s glasses. Hanson Elementary School teacher Ashli Franklin, who nominated Jack, said she was very impressed with his willingness to “go above and beyond” to help a student find his lost glasses!
| |
|
School Days Matinees
Glema Mahr Center for the Arts in Madisonville has released information about the 2022-2023 School Days Matinees. For more information, please see the schedule.
| | |
Honoring Outstanding Students | |
Governor's Scholars Program | |
Hopkins County Schools’ students who participated in the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program were honored by the Board of Education. Students recognized were Alyssa Blanchard, Michaiah Andresen, Matthew Williams, Molly Bachman, Molly Bradley, Jenna Gamblin, Alexandria Ipock-Groves, Presley Lutz, Lauren Wooten, Isaiah Hardesty, and Christopher Wheeler II.
The Governor’s Scholars Program is a summer residential program for outstanding high school students in Kentucky who are rising seniors. The mission of GSP is to enhance Kentucky’s next generation of civic and economic leaders. The application process is highly competitive and the program has grown to include more than 1,000 students on three campuses each summer.
| |
|
|
Governor's School
for Entrepreneurs
| |
Hopkins County Schools’ students who participated in the Kentucky Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs were honored at the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday. Students recognized were Addison Tate and Chloe Young.
GSE is a three-week residential program for teens across the state. During the program, teams of high school students develop a business model, design a prototype and pitch their startup to a large audience and a panel of judges. GSE teaches the opportunities, benefits and pitfalls of taking a business concept from the idea phase to pitching it to potential investors.
| |
|
Governor's School for the Arts | |
Hopkins County Schools’ students who participated in the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts were honored at the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday. Students recognized were Nevaeh Demoss, Chase Brummer (not pictured), and Devon Carlton (not pictured).
GSA is a three-week college summer residence program that offers in-depth instruction in one of nine artistic disciplines: architecture/design, creative writing, dance, drama, film and photography, instrumental music, musical theater, visual art, and vocal music.
| |
| | | | |
