Hopkins County Schools is seeking nominations for the 2022-2023 Teacher of the Year and Employee of the Year awards.

Teacher of the Year nominees must have a minimum of three years teaching experience. The Teachers of the Year will be selected in the categories of Elementary (P-5), Middle (6-8) and Secondary (9-12).

Categories for Employee of the Year nominations are: Administrator of the Year, eligible nominees would include principals, assistant principals, central office administrators, and guidance counselors; Classified Support Services, eligible nominees would include instructional assistants who work in a classroom setting to enhance student achievement and Family Resource employees who provide student needs throughout the district; Facilities Management, eligible employees would include all custodians and district maintenance staff; Food Service, eligible nominees would include all cafeteria employees, cafeteria managers and district food service employees; Transportation, eligible nominees would include bus drivers, bus monitors, vehicle maintenance staff and district employees; Secretary of the Year, eligible employees would include all school secretaries; and Central Office Employee of the Year, eligible employees would include all central office staff.

Nominations will be accepted through the close of business, 4 p.m. Friday, May 26, 2023. Online nomination forms are available at the following links:

Teacher of the Year

Employee of the Year

A printable form is available at the following link. It should be mailed to Employee of the Year, Hopkins County Schools, 320 S. Seminary Street, Madisonville, KY 42431. Attention: Crystal Carlton.

Employee of the Year Nomination Form (pdf)

Hopkins County Board of Education held groundbreaking ceremonies on Tuesday for the new auxiliary gyms/storm shelters at Hopkins County Central and Madisonville North Hopkins High schools. These spaces will offer great opportunities for our students while providing storm shelters for our community! The district is primarily using federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds for the project. We’re so excited to see this dream becoming a reality!

Participants in the Deeper Learning Teacher cohort gave a presentation about the program to the Board of Education on April 18. This is a three-year program 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 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.

Online Registration/Annual Update through Infinite Campus Parent Portal started Monday, April 24, for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year.



Online Registration will be available on the portal through the start of the school year. We encourage you to complete this soon for your students. Parents may also register new students, including incoming kindergarten students. This is required for ALL students who will attend Hopkins County Schools next year.

This online process allows you to verify and submit required information to your child’s school. It also eliminates the forms and paperwork that used to be required for annual registration. Your child’s school may have other site-specific forms that you will be asked to complete later. 

Only the legal guardian listed for the student in the primary household can complete online registration. The assigned school is based on the primary household address. If your child has a secondary household, please update the information for that additional household while completing the online update. Look for more information on the district website, www.hopkins.kyschools.us/OLR.

We loved welcoming the community to Earlington Elementary School on April 22! People had the chance to catch up with long-time friends and share fond memories of their time at the school. Thanks to everyone who came!!

Hopkins County Schools will expand mental health services and resources for its students, starting in the 2023-2024 school year. In an effort to meet the growing mental health needs of its students, the district will be hiring its own team of counselors to provide additional support to students who may be struggling with mental health challenges.

The district's new mental health team will include licensed counselors and therapists who will be available to provide one-on-one counseling, group therapy, and other mental health services to students in need. The team will also work closely with teachers, administrators, and parents to identify students who may be struggling and provide them with the necessary support and resources.

"We recognize that mental health is a critical component of our students' overall well-being," said Hopkins County Schools Superintendent Amy Smith. "By hiring our own team of counselors, we are taking a proactive approach to address the mental health needs of our students and ensure that they have access to the resources and support they need to succeed."

In addition to hiring its own team of counselors, the district is also looking to implement other mental health supports including additional professional development opportunities for staff and mental health curricular resources, which focus on teaching students coping skills and self-care techniques.

The expanded mental health services and resources will be available to all students in the district starting in the 2023-2024 school year. Additional details will be announced soon.



For more information, please contact Dr. Andy Belcher at (270) 825-6000.

Hopkins County Career and Technology Center guidance counselor Lauren Wood received a big surprise when she got to work on April 18!

Wood had been told Madisonville Community College officials would give an award to CTC teachers that morning. Then, Wood was presented with the inaugural MCC Pathfinder Award!

“It was a surprise,” she said. “I had no idea!”

MCC is celebrating National Community College Month and recognizing individuals who have been instrumental in guiding and supporting students with their college and career plans. The award was presented by MCC President Dr. Cynthia Kelley and Vice-President of Administration Dr. Jay Parrent.

Wood was nominated by MCC faculty, staff, and students based on her efforts to encourage students to attend MCC, assist them in identifying a career and postsecondary path, provide mentorship, and maintain contact with students. She is among 16 individuals in the state to receive the Pathfinder Award.



“I feel very honored to be selected as the inaugural recipient of the KCTCS Pathfinder Award,” Wood said. “I want Hopkins County students to be prepared for their next steps after high school and keeping them my focus is always No. 1!”

Hopkins County Schools recently hosted Leadership Hopkins County,, giving class members an up-close look at the district. They learned about the Child Nutrition Department and Transportation Department. Participants even got to test drive a bus! Education Day also included a tour of Hopkins County Career and Technology Center and a question-and-answer session with district administrators. We enjoyed sharing information about our district with these community leaders! 

Ag students at Madisonville North Hopkins High School will benefit from two grants awarded through the Kentucky FFA Foundation. Here are details about the grants:



SAE Grants: Students in the agriculture program have outside projects called Supervised Agricultural Experiences. The goal of these projects is to provide exposure to a sector of agriculture students find interesting - potentially earning money, learning new skills, or simply developing future hobbies. The Kentucky FFA Foundation gives out start-up grants for these each year. A total of $3,000 was awarded for MNHHS students, with six students receiving $500 each. Projects include starting beehives, flower gardens, and raising goats. Recipients are Riley Peyton, Brenna Sherman, Sydney Dickerson, Addison Jerome, Maddie Ziegler, and Savannah Crick.

Innovations Grants: The KY FFA Foundation also gives out program grants aimed at developing agriculture programs in innovative ways that further partnerships throughout the community. The Agriculture Shop at MNHHS was awarded $10,000 to continue a partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Seniors in the Agricultural Math course apply basic math principles to residential construction, building sheds for local Habitat homes. Habitat helps sponsor materials, providing our students a chance to learn practical skills in meaningful ways. With the grant, they purchased enough equipment for three sheds to be built by three groups.

American Legion Auxiliary Unit 6 presented Freedom Flags to four of our schools and the Central Office during the Board of Education meeting on April 18. The Freedom Flag is a special symbol of remembrance for 9/11. 

Flags were presented to Hanson Elementary School, South Hopkins Middle School, Southside Elementary School, and West Hopkins School. The elementary schools also received a copy of the book, “Unfurling of the Freedom Flag.” The American Legion Auxiliary previously presented the flags to both high schools and all schools within the city of Madisonville.

The flags were presented by Terri Whitfield, the auxiliary’s Americanism chair; Elaine Josleyn, Maurice K. Gordon Unit 6 president; Carolyn Burris, district president; and Lori Moore, Legionaire/auxiliary member.

Top spelling skills have led two of our students to advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee!

Noah Brumfield, a 7th grader at James Madison Middle School, placed 2nd in the Regional Qualifying event in Hopkinsville. Isabella Carver, a 5th grader at Hanson Elementary, placed 3rd. This qualifies both students for the Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Md., the week of Memorial Day.

We believe this is the first time that Hopkins County students have ever advanced to the Scripps National Spelling Bee!

Both are excited to go to the Scripps National Spelling Bee and are spending their time studying and practicing. You can listen to interviews with both in this Kentucky Edition feature.

Congratulations to both of these outstanding students!!

The Hopkins County Schools’ presentation of “Seussical the Musical” at Glema Mahr Center for the Arts received rave reviews!

“Seussical the Musical is all of the most well-known Dr. Seuss characters put into a story similar to ‘Horton Hears a Who,’ but with lots of different other things,” said Liam Coursey, director of choral activities at Madisonville North Hopkins and James Madison. He is co-directing the show with Kelly Oliver, Hopkins County Central choral director. “It’s a show with a vibrancy that you don’t often see. The sets are bright and the costumes are big and grand. It’s very fun and positive.

“I think the kids have all learned quite a bit about how we do theater at different levels,” he said. “The growth of confidence and expression that we’ve seen out of the kids over these past few months is remarkable.”



The cast included students from Madisonville North Hopkins, Hopkins County Central, James Madison Middle, and South Hopkins Middle.

A group of teachers at Pride Elementary spent two weeks in top-secret planning mode. Their plans turned into reality – and a big surprise for a co-worker – one recent morning.

Fourth grade teacher Sarah Neathery wasn’t originally supposed to be at school that day. She had been selected to attend professional development training at Ron Clark Academy. However, she gave up her spot to stay at school with fellow 4th grade teacher Laura Watkins, who is battling breast cancer. Neathery wanted to be there in case the kids needed her.

“I tried to convince her to go,” Watkins said. When that didn’t work, she approached teachers Ashley Brewer and Jaime Vincent, both RCA alums, with a question: “Can we bring Ron Clark to her?” Teacher Kerri Blades, who has also taken part in the PD, assisted with the events.

Ron Clark Academy, Watkins explained, is considered “the pinnacle of PD.” The academy is an innovative middle school in Atlanta, where immersive PD workshops promote student engagement, academic rigor, and a school climate that leads to student success.

Pride Elementary was able to pull off their surprise on March 23. Neathery was inducted into the House of Altruismo, participated in an RCA-style House Party, attended a PD session via Ron Clark YouTube, and was presented with a book signed by Clark. Watkins and Neathery were surprised with a personal video from Clark himself, as well as a video message from Michael Bonner, an educator at the academy.

Lastly, holding true to the Ron Clark Academy tradition, Sarah was able to slide down a slide, and become "slide certified."  Rain did not hold this crew back for RCA 2.0, as they were able to use an inflatable slide provided by a church.

“I was very shocked,” Neathery said. “I couldn’t believe that someone would do that for me. I pretty much cried all day.”

They have worked together for about seven years and are close friends.

“Sometimes in life, this is what you do,” Watkins said. “You help other people out. You pay them back for the things they do for you. Not everybody in their lifetime gets to work with someone who is a friend.”

Hopkins County Schools’ District Talent Shows were held this week at Glema Mahr Center for the Arts.Talent coordination is provided by the District Services for Gifted and Talented. Thanks to Madisonville Community College Lions Club for sponsoring the district competitions!

The Middle School Amazing Shake competition has drawn to a close! This year’s competition was the largest ever, with 150 participants from Browning Springs, James Madison, and South Hopkins Middle schools. Winners include Reagan Blades, SHMS, 1st; Josie Walker, SHMS, 2nd; Aleigha Hughes of JMMS and Jasper Lee of SHMS, 3rd; and Maria Kerby, BSMS, 5th.

The Amazing Shake emphasizes professional skills. Competition rounds include a meet and greet, “Think on your Feet,” dinner etiquette, and an interview session.



Congratulations to the winners and all participants! Thanks to everyone who organized this series of competitions and all the volunteers who made it possible! The Amazing Shake is currently under way at the elementary level for the first time!

Twenty of our 5th graders participated in the second round of the Elementary Amazing Shake competition earlier this week at Hopkins County Career & Technology Center. The students from Grapevine, Jesse Stuart, Pride, and West Broadway Elementary schools were given four scenarios in which they had to think on their feet. This is the first time that Amazing Shake has been held at the elementary level!



The top 10 have advanced to the third and final round, which is an etiquette dinner. The Top 10 includes Gauge Day and Damion Rose of GES; Mylie Duvall and Ally Kong of JSES; Kyah Cook and Alicia Talamantes of PES; and Micah Biggs, Charlie Gamblin, Audrey Mulligan, and Allie Ramage of WBES. This is a great opportunity for our elementary students!

The 2023 high school graduation rates have been set:

Hopkins County Schools Academy

• Thursday, May 18, 2023, at 6 p.m. at Hopkins County Central High School

Hopkins County Central High School

• Awards Ceremony, Sunday, May 21, 2023, at 2 p.m.
• Baccalaureate, Sunday, May 21, 2023, at 6 p.m.
• Graduation, Tuesday, May 23, 2023, at 7 p.m.

Madisonville North Hopkins High School

• Awards Ceremony, Thursday, May 18, 2023, at 1 p.m.
• Baccalaureate, Sunday, May 21, 2023, at 6 p.m.
• Graduation, Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at 7 p.m.

*Tickets are required for the HCCHS and MNHHS graduation ceremonies.