Ashdown Public School Names Campus Teachers of the Year

Congratulations to the 2021-2022 Ashdown Public District teachers named the “Campus Teacher of the Year.” We want to thank these teachers for their outstanding service and commitment to excellence. We have complete details regarding the academic leaders courtesy of a press release.

Courtesy Ashdown Public School

During the April Ashdown School Meeting, the Campus Teachers of the Year for the 21-22 school year were presented and they are Lonni Dollarhide, for Ashdown Elementary, Ashdown Junior High is Dee Ward and for Ashdown High School, Elmorris Hopkins.

AHS English Teacher Elmorris Hopkins was announced as the 2021-2022 Ashdown Public Schools District Teacher of the Year by Superintendent Casey Nichols.

Ashdown Elementary’s Teacher of the Year Mrs. Lonni Dollarhide was born and raised in Ashdown. She lives in the small community of Richmond outside of Ashdown where she raises her family. Mrs. Dollarhide has been married to her best friend Dewayne for 22 years. They have 3 wonderful children: MacKynze who is a Jr. at SAU majoring in Education, Kutter, a 9th grader at AHS, and Kord who is a fourth-grader at AES. She graduated from Ashdown High School in 1998. After starting her family, she attended college at Southern Arkansas University where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education in 2008.

Mrs. Dollarhide has taught Kindergarten at Ashdown Elementary for 14 years and loves her job. She serves as President of the Ashdown School District Personnel Policy Committee and is a member of the AES Leadership Team. She is an active member of the AES PTO helping with many fundraisers which provide extras for all the students and staff at AES. In addition, she is a certified First Responder for the Richmond Volunteer Fire Department; and she is an active member of the Richmond First United Methodist Church where she participates in many, many community projects and fundraisers lead by Bro. Jim Cross.

AJHS Teacher of the year is Mrs. Dee Ward. She is a fourth-generation educator, and truly believes that education is “in her bones”. She graduated from Ashdown High School in 2010 and received her undergraduate degree as well as graduate degree from Southern Arkansas University. Mrs. Ward is happily married to Will Ward and together they have two beautiful children, Leila and Cleveland Ward.

Mrs. Ward is the STEM Coach and has been in the Ashdown School District for five years with a total teaching experience of 8 years. The majority of her professional experience was in the English classroom, but after receiving her masters in Library/Media Specialist in 2019 she found a new passion in education. This new passion of integrating technology and hands-on learning into all curriculum led her to developing the new STEM program at AJHS. It is in the STEM lab where Mrs. Ward has been working and teaching for the last two years. This position requires her to collaborate with all staff members and other members of the district to develop curriculum-based projects for students. Another important aspect of her job is to provide STEM based enrichment opportunities for students, so that teachers can utilize small groups and RTI instruction inside their classrooms. As most educators do, Mrs. Ward wears many hats at the junior high. She is responsible for all Advisory and school-wide RTI plans, as well as managing the I-Ready diagnostic and interim testing throughout the year.

Mrs. Ward enjoys serving as the secretary of the district PPM committee, sponsoring the AJHS student council, serving as a member of the AJHS leadership team and RTI advisory committee, as well as many other groups within the district. One of Mrs. Ward’s favorite aspects of being an educator is the ability to build meaningful relationships with her students each year, and watching them grow into amazing young men and women right before her eyes. She enjoys participating in and attending extra-curricular events inside and outside of the school day, and supporting her students in whatever they are doing. Working for the Ashdown School District has been a wonderful experience, and Mr. Ward plans to finish out her years as an educator here making our district the best it can possibly be.

Mr. Elmorris Hopkins was the Ashdown High School campus Teacher of the Year. He is presently teaching 11th grade English, AP Language, and Composition I and II Concurrent Credit.

Mr. Hopkins holds a Bachelor’s degree from Henderson State University and a Masters from Texas A & M. He has taught over 22 years with 17 of those being in Ashdown.

Mr. Hopkins has been selected on various occasions by students and staff as a teacher that exemplifies a master teacher. His love for his subject emulates his passion for his work. His attendance and consistency in managing his classroom by providing the English opportunities help to ready our students at AHS for college and/or career expectations. His concern for all the students continues to provide the stability and learning atmosphere in which all students can master literacy skills and be successful.

His strong character traits of setting great examples for his students is exemplified in him using the money awarded him to purchase an electric piano for his classroom. This addition allows students to play and listen to music as he incorporates music into his teaching. He is often seen at school events with his camera in hand taking photos of his students as they compete and perform for their memory books that are compiled for students each year. Student surveys mention Mr. Hopkins as the most caring teacher and one they can depend upon if they need help and encouragement.

Mr. Hopkins has sponsored Beta Club at the High School for 15 years. The high standards of Beta members have been upheld with students representing the five-character traits of a Beta member. Service projects have included documenting cemetery plots and supporting community events by Beta members helping serve at dinners as well as support charities. He was named Ashdown Teacher of the Year for AHS in 2008-2009 as well as the District Teacher of the Year for the same time period. He revised the English III curriculum to fit the state standards for English III integrated with Oral Communications. Mr. Hopkins has participated in the AAIMS (Arkansas Advanced Initiative for Math and Science) and facilitated AP English Saturday Prep Sessions in which guest educators would teach the students skills and tips for achieving success on the AP English Language Test. Former students have entered the teaching field and have commented that Mr. Hopkins was the teacher who inspired them.

Not only is Mr. Hopkins a model educator but his community involvement and faith is visible where he has been the church organist and pianist for 38 plus years at the Greater Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Ashdown. He has a passion for all things creative, especially music and poetry. He strives each school year to use creativity and charisma to build rapport with ALL students. He engages his students in intellectual discussions about reading and writing with hopes to help them develop their own perspectives and build their confidence in public speaking. He maintains a well-managed classroom with a relaxed atmosphere that encourages learning and participation. He has stated that his ultimate goal is to be the kind of fun-loving and caring teacher that he would have wanted as a student.

Ashdown Superintendent Casey Nichols stated, “I am so proud of each campus Teacher of the Year! Each teacher represents their campuses to show how hard working and dedicated they are to their students, schools, and community. They go so far above each and every day to provide the best education possible for our students and I am so appreciative of that.”

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