Aaron Hopper is a popular guy on the campus of Lumpkin County High School, ss the now two-time Teacher of the Year winner guided The Nugget back to his office for a customary spotlight interview earlier this month, a cluster of students headed in the opposite direction, toward the cafeteria, stopped him for a brief conversation in the hallway.
It was apparent from the casual banter that the students viewed Hopper as more of a friend than a staff member.
Hopper would reflect on the exchange a few minutes later, as he attempted to encapsulate his teaching philosophy.
“I don’t like bragging on myself. I hate it. But I have kids that I don’t even teach—like the kids we just saw out there in the hall—I don’t teach any of them, but they know me because I’m loud and I’m around, and their friends know that any of them could walk in here right now and say ‘I need you,’ and I would drop whatever I was doing,” he said.
In remarks made during the 2027 Teacher of the Year presentations back in September, LCHS Principal Brian Matthews made similar observations about Hopper’s ability to connect with students.
“He and I co-taught together for years in the Social Studies department, and anytime you see him he’s got a big smile on his face and he’s got a crew of kids around him, wherever you go,” Matthews noted.
And that’s pretty much everywhere. Despite residing about 25 minutes away in Cleveland, Hopper can usually be spotted at most high school club events, wrestling matches, football games and basketball games, whether at home or away.
“I show up in Macon to a wrestling tournament and he’s sitting right there. A student government meeting: He’s sitting right there. I was at ROTC the other day sitting up in the box, and he’s sitting right there. He is everywhere, and he is a great role model for any teacher coming through the system,” Matthews said.
MOVING UP
Hopper graduated out of East High and obtained an undergraduate degree in History Education from the University of North Georgia, but he would later obtain additional certification in Special Education to fulfill local needs.
His first job was teaching at Long Branch Elementary, followed by Lumpkin County Middle School.
But in 2008, Hopper got “promoted” to his dream job teaching at the high school level.
“I kept graduating,” he said with a smile, adding that he knew he was “meant to be a high school teacher.”
His first Teacher of the Year win also came while teaching at LCHS, in 2012.
“I’d like to get one more before I retire—to go for the trifecta. That’d be kind of cool,” he said.
And while he is interested in pursuing his master’s degree, Hopper said he has no aspirations to move up to teaching at the college level.
“This is it. I like this,” he said. “We have a great community, and this is a great job.”
TEACHING TEAM
Currently, Hopper is Instructional Lead Teacher for the Special Ed department, which consists of 16 teachers including eight co-teachers, three Graduate Assistants and some para-professionals.
As a Special Ed teacher, Hopper works with students with learning disabilities, such as autism, to make the general education curriculum more accessible.
But that doesn’t mean his students are necessarily struggling.
“With some of them it may be an academic issue. Some of it may be a behavioral issue. Some of it may be a medical issue. I’ve got kids in my class that are autistic but make a ‘99’ in the class, because they’re high-functioning. And then I’ve got kids that can’t read,” Hopper said.
“But I teach all of them, and that’s one thing we do here at the school. All of the Special Ed teachers teach all of the kids, not just the ones we’re having to focus on. We have those, but we also interact with a lot of the other kids, too,” he added.
Hopper co-teaches three classes a day, separated by grade level.
“I teach two U.S. Histories, which are 11th grade, and then an economics, which is a 12th grade, which this kid is in,” Hopper said, gesturing toward his daughter. “We are what’s called co-teachers. We go in the regular classroom. When we have quizzes or tests, we’ll pull a group out of a classroom and typically read the quiz or read the test to them, or we’ll pull out a small group to help them if it’s like a writing assignment or something, but then other than that normally I’ll just be right in there with the regular teacher and we’re both teaching the content. I’m certified in Social Studies, too, so I actually know the content,” Hopper explained.
He said co-teaching is a unique skill that takes a little while to get used to, but can produce exceptional results for all students.
“My friend Kevin [Smith] who I’m [co-teaching] with right now, he’ll be talking about something and I’ll feed off of that and start talking about that, and he’ll start talking about something else, and we just kind of go back and forth,” Hopper said.
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY
When asked about his personal perspective on teaching, Aaron deferred to his daughter, who sat in on the interview.
“Sara, this is where I need your help. What is my philosophy?” Aaron asked.
“Everyone deserves a chance,” Sara responded without a moment’s hesitation.
“That’s pretty much it—everyone deserves a chance. Wow, that’s really good Sara. She’s going to be a teacher, too, so she’s learning some stuff now,” Aaron said.
Sara elaborated further, saying that her dad “gives every kid the benefit of the doubt.”
“Sometimes they just need a granola bar, you know, and I keep food here in the room for them. Sometimes they need somebody to talk to. Sometimes history is not the most important thing that they need to do that day. They just want to be here, so I have kids that are not Special Ed that come sit and talk to me, and we talk about things. And that’s my thing. I’m kind of like the ‘dad’ around here,” Aaron added.
Sara said it also helps that she and her father are visible at practically every high school event.
“He’s just such a recognizable face,” she said.
“And I’ve also been here forever. That helps. But the big thing is I coach the Academic Team,” Aaron said, noting that Sara is the Team Captain this year.
“We won three state championships. and we went to Nationals several times. One competition we finished third in Nationals,” he added proudly.
Aaron said being involved in extracurricular activities is important because when the kids see him at their events, they know he cares.
When asked about his favorite part of teaching at the high school level, he said he enjoys being able to have an adult-level conversation with them about the subject matter.
“I can teach Econ to a middle schooler and they wouldn’t have a clue, because they’re not there yet, you know?” Aaron said.
SPECIAL COMMUNITY
Hopper described Lumpkin County as a “special community” to teach in.
“We don’t have problems here,” he said. “We have vapes, tardies, getting the kids to school. We don’t have fights. We don’t have drugs, that I know about. We don’t have kids getting arrested all the time. We’ve got good kids.”
Aaron Hopper acknowledged the system’s strong athletic program, but heaped particular praise on the academics.
“We’re sending kids to Ivy League schools. We’re sending more kids to Georgia and Georgia Tech than we ever have."
Matthews said that, as a parent of two children taught by Aaron, he is confident in the Teacher of the Year’s ability to “meet the needs of each kid, based on what each kid needs.”
“We appreciate you, and we’re honored that you’re our Teacher of the Year,” Matthews concluded.
This is the fourth in a series of articles shining a spotlight on all five of the Lumpkin County School System’s 2027 Teachers of the Year.