JERSEYVILLE - Jersey 100 Community Schools Superintendent Lori Hopkins has made a decision to resign her position as of June 30, 2017, and she did so with the district in mind so they could begin the search now for her successor.
Hopkins tendered her resignation for just after the end of the school year in 2017 at the Jan. 19 board meeting. She did not reveal at the present time what her plans were professionally once June 30 comes, but she said she is reviewing different options and eventually will announce that.
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She said serving the children of Jersey 100 community has been one of the greatest experiences of her life.
“As the assistant principal at Jersey Community High School and East Elementary as principal, I was afforded the opportunity to work directly with kids every single day,” she said. “I enjoyed those times immensely, but my purpose for making the move to the district office as superintendent was simply to try to expand the impact I could have on students and staff. I also felt the superintendency was my calling. My hope was to have a positive impact on all Jersey 100 students.”
Hopkins said the decision to resign as superintendent was very difficult to make, but she wanted to communicate her heart after having the opportunity to sit down, take a breath and reflect on the last three and a half years in the position.
“We have come such a long way together and I believe that Jersey 100 is moving in such a positive direction, which is exactly why I tendered my resignation,” she said. “With the momentum going strong and the goals of the 2014-2017 Jersey 100 Strategic Plan met, we are in a great place.
“Having a new leader to grab the reins and move forward with new ideas and lots of energy is exactly what Jersey 100 students deserve. In a few weeks I will be sending out a summary of the accomplishments of the Jersey 100 Family. It really is impressive what our staff, Board of Education, community, students, and families were able to achieve in such a short period.”
Hopkins said she loves working in education.
“I love the people and community,” she said of her experience in Jersey. “I love the people in the community and have built a lot of relationships with people whom I hold in the highest esteem. It has been a wonderful ride. My goal was always to help the district be the best it can be and when you have good people, that is easy to do.”
“I am just very blessed I had such tremendous opportunity. It is a tremendous community. It has been extremely gratifying to have the support in the ‘Just Be Jersey’ way. It has been extremely gratifying.”
Hopkins said she believes Jersey 100 Schools are moving in a positive direction.
“I’m so excited to see what’s in store for the future of Jersey 100, as I want nothing but the very best for all Panthers,” she said. “I will continue supporting, promoting, and giving my all for our great district for the next several months, planning on spending as much time in our schools with kids as humanly possible.”
The Jersey superintendent said there have been so many accomplishments with her administrative team and teaching staff over the past three-and-a-half years.
“I am the lucky one,” she said. “All of you do the work and I just get to share it in an exciting fashion. What we are doing here with the facilities is an achievement with all the debt and problems with the state budget.
“The teachers and staff have worked so hard together as a family. I feel everyone is doing their thing and doing it well and making such a positive difference for our kids. While we reduced some programs we have increased in others, preparing for a global world. We have changed our teaching styles and added new standards, a new teacher evaluation system and a new reporting assessment system.
“The new teacher evaluation plan and the new student growth component plan are all in conjunction with the new state mandates. We have accomplished a balancing of budget, debt release through sales tax and facility improvements. Our people came together and voted yes for a county facility sales tax.”
The Jersey school administrator said her goal in education has always to be a public servant and do what she could to help the kids move in the right direction with great modeling.
“I have such belief in kids,” she said. “If you give kids the ability to believe in themselves, they can make their dreams happen.”
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