For those unaware, Mrs. Hopkins recently won the Milken Award, also known as the “Oscars of Education”. Even through a brief conversation, her passion and love for teaching were very obvious, showing how deserving she is of this award. This award is presented to teachers across America every year, and Mrs. Hopkins was the only teacher from Rhode Island to be chosen this year. This is quite an honor as the recipient of the award not only becomes part of the Milken family, but also receives a prize of $25,000.

CHS’s Own Mrs. Hopkins Wins an “Oscar of Teaching”
BY RITA STUBBS
Mrs. Hopkins has been a teacher at CHS for the past sixteen years and creates a special bond with each of her students. She refers to them as her “kids” and does not view what she does as a job, but something she loves. Just a few weeks ago I was given the privilege of interviewing Mrs. Hopkins and was able to learn a lot about her and her accomplishments.
For those unaware, Mrs. Hopkins recently won the Milken Award, also known as the “Oscars of Education”. Even through a brief conversation, her passion and love for teaching were very obvious, showing how deserving she is of this award.
This award is presented to teachers across America every year, and Mrs. Hopkins was the only teacher from Rhode Island to be chosen this year. This is quite an honor as the recipient of the award not only becomes part of the Milken family, but also receives a prize of $25,000.
Part of the excitement came from the mystery that shrouded the award. Before winning, she had no idea and was in shock when it was revealed in front of the entire school at an assembly. At the beginning of the assembly, Hopkins and her colleagues began suspecting someone was receiving an award and chatted amongst themselves about who it could be. “In my wildest dreams I did not believe it would be me,” she stated.
Mrs. Hopkins spoke on how wonderful it was to be able to share the experience with her sister (Mrs. Kasbarian), a fellow teacher at CHS. Those in the crowd could see Mrs. Kasbarian repeatedly say “That’s my sister!”, after Mrs. Hopkins’ win was revealed. Mrs. Kasbarian proceeded to FaceTime her mom so that she could be involved in the moment.
As Mrs. Hopkins said in the interview “everyone knows everyone in Coventry”, and that worked to her advantage. Colleagues who knew her husband sent him videos of what was going on, and the principal of Western called her students out of class to let them know of their mom’s accomplishment. Funnily enough, their concern was whether they were going to be able to get an XBOX.
The sense of community felt in the gymnasium was overwhelming, and Mrs. Hopkins says that community has spread outside of the assembly. She loves that students who may not have had her in the past recognize who she is in the halls, and students that she had previously have gotten in touch to extend their congratulations.
Towards the end of this interview, Mrs. Hopkins was kind enough to give me advice, quoting To Kill A Mockingbird in saying “you never really understand a person until you walk a mile in their shoes”. She expanded on this to talk about how important it is to understand the struggles of others and their points of view. As a teacher, she tries to make sure she walks a mile in every one of her student’s shoes, in order to help them succeed in school.
Lastly, she told me that when it came to a career, choose something that I absolutely “need” to do. In her case, she needs to talk to people, to be able to work and impact the lives of kids. As mentioned before, she loves her job, and it’s very obvious.
In March, Mrs. Hopkins will be invited to visit Washington D.C. to meet with other Milken Educators. She looks forward to learning from them, and we at CHS look forward to seeing what she brings back from her trip.
Recent Comments