EDUCATION
EDUCATING FOR ETERNITY BY MAKALA JAMES and TAMARA MICHALENKO TERRY
After nearly half a century of work in Seventh-day Adventist education, John Hopps, Texas Conference Education Superintendent, officially retired in May 2019. John worked tirelessly to support teachers and to create the best educational opportunities for students. He treasures the genuine relationships he took care to nurture. John started his teaching career as a math and science teacher at San Antonio Junior Academy. Several of his students came from abusive homes while others lived in non-Christian homes. It became evident to John quickly that, in order to be effective in the classroom, he must build a caring relationship with his students and show them an example of what Christianity is meant to look like. “Even though they may reject the 6
church, if they have an adult who’s fair and exemplifies Christian behavior then it can make all the difference,” said John. After three years, John moved back to his hometown in Keene, Texas. There he worked as a teacher at Keene Adventist Elementary School for three years and at Chisholm Trail Academy for two years. John’s next adventure took him to Hood View Junior Academy in Oregon where he became the principal. This was completely new territory for the Texas-born teacher. At the very start of the school year, the chairman of the board hosted a corn roast for the entire school. When the students gathered to play hide-and-seek, John decided that he, too, should join in. “I ran off to hide in an old logging truck,” John said. “It was pitch black. I just sat there while all the kids went
out hiding.” Before long, two students climbed into the other side of the vehicle. In the dark, they couldn’t see John. They began to whisper, “What do you think about the new principal?” Just then, John spoke up in his best Texan accent, “How y’all doing?” It startled the students so much that they fell out of the cab and ran into the woods. “They were always a little leery about where I might show up after that,” laughed John. After six years in Oregon, John moved back to Texas to work at Killeen Adventist Junior Academy for several years. He later took a job at Burton Adventist Academy (BAA), first as a teacher and then as principal. John always remembered the importance of student connection from his time in San Antonio and worked hard to get to know the
