District Staff: Elementary: Yvonne Hoops

Mrs. Yvonne Hoops

2nd Grade

By Yvonne Hoops

September 19, 2007

Second grade teacher Yvonne Hoops has a school bell displayed in her home. It is not just any bell; it is the one her own elementary school teacher used. For her first eight years of schooling, Mrs. Hoops attended a two-room country school, and each year her respect and love grew for her teacher, Mrs. McCullough. They kept in touch and shortly before her death, Mrs. McCullough gave her the bell. It was this teacher’s caring example that inspired Mrs. Hoops to become a teacher.

She graduated from Kansas State University with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in education and has been teaching for 34 years, 27 of those at CHB and Thayer Central. When asked what she likes best about teaching, there is no hesitation in her answer. “The kids,” she smiles. “This is the perfect grade. They love school.” And it’s no wonder. Mrs. Hoops not only cares about her students, but she also makes learning so much fun, the children look forward to each day.

She appreciates the involvement of parents with their children’s education. What a difference it makes when parents take time to listen to them read or to spend quality time with them. Such teamwork, she says, helps her eliminate any possible gaps in their child’s learning.

Over the years Mrs. Hoops has gathered a wealth of memories as she watched her students grow up, get married, and now has the privilege of teaching their children. One of the best memories of her teaching experience, however, is a note she received from the parents of a child who had a difficult time learning. At the end of the school year, the parents wrote a note thanking her for all she had done for their child. “I still have the note,” she says.

Mrs. Hoops and her husband, Mike, raised their family of three on a farm near Byron, Nebraska. Their twins, now 23, and daughter, 19, all enjoyed the privilege of having “Mom” as their teacher. She is the first American-born descendant of her French-German immigrant parents. Even though she has few family members in America, she firmly believes, “We are so lucky to live in a country like this.” And she has 21 little second graders who believe they are so lucky to be in a classroom like hers.