Hopkins named 2024-25 Teacher of the Year
Math department chair teacher Erick Hopkins tells new teachers one piece of advice to help them stay motivated.
“Today is today. Tomorrow you can start fresh. Whatever mistakes you make, you can fix them the next day. Nothing is ever truly permanent in that sense,” Hopkins said.
On Aug. 26, Clarke County School District announced Hopkins was named 2024-25 Cedar Shoals High School Teacher of the Year.
“Congratulations to all of our teachers and support staff who have been selected by their peers to represent their schools and buildings for the 2024-25 school year,” CCSD Superintendent Dr. Robbie Hooker said in a press release.
Hopkins started teaching at Cedar Shoals in 2003, left in 2007, and returned to Cedar in 2011, working here since. Surprisingly, Hopkins says he voted for science teacher and runner-up Stephanie Lewis.
“I was surprised, believe it or not. I did not vote for myself. I voted for the other person. But there’s so many teachers here that are so deserving of that honor. I was humbled,” Hopkins said.
Hopkins hopes that being recognized with this award will give him an opportunity to highlight what he considers to be less recognized, but equally important pieces of the Cedar community.
“Hopefully I can represent Cedar as just another one of the many positive things that are actually happening within these walls. There’s a lot of unsung heroes that just don’t get that recognition. If I can help shine a little light and bring more attention to all those other things: our athletics, our fine arts … If I can just help bring just a little bit more attention to that, then I think it’s worth it,” Hopkins said.
Mainly teaching seniors, Hopkins says there can be unique challenges to that: mainly ‘senioritis.’
“It’s not as bad in the fall, but there is definitely a fatigue that kicks in, especially in the spring, where it’s just that their minds are somewhere else or either they are physically somewhere else. It’s just a reminder that, hey, you still have to finish this last little bit, and I’m here to help you do that. It is a real thing,” Hopkins said.
New to Cedar Shoals as a marketing teacher, Ka’lah Paige also experienced Hopkins’ class in 2016-17 as a student, recalling how he was a “quiet and reserved man.”
“He has his own sense of humor. He was always a fun teacher, very personable with us, and he really went the extra mile to make sure that we were getting the content that was being taught. But overall, a great math teacher,” Paige said. “He probably deserved it years ago.”
