North Hopkins Elementary among 2024 Best Elementary Schools in Texas, according to U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News and World Report recently released its 2024 school directory, which includes rankings for all public schools in the United States. The rankings are based on state assessment performance, graduation rates and student preparedness for high school.

The rankings include 79,000 public elementary and middle schools across the country. Schools are ranked at the state and national levels, and Best Charter Schools and Best Magnet Schools are ranked as stand-alone categories.

North Hopkins Elementary was ranked 533 out of 4,363 Texas elementary schools, placing North Hopkins Elementary in the top 12% of Texas elementary schools and in the top 40% of elementary schools in the United States.

'To say we are excited about receiving this recognition would be an understatement,” said Principal Kodi Wright. “Our elementary staff’s commitment to excellence and determination to make sure each student is a well-rounded successful individual is undeniable. Being ranked in the top 12% of Texas elementary schools confirms that high expectations, dedication, hard work and love is the heartbeat of North Hopkins Elementary.”

The methodology focuses on state assessments of students who were proficient or above proficient in mathematics and reading/language arts while accounting for student backgrounds, achievement in core subjects, and how well schools are educating their students. Student-teacher ratios are applied to break ties in the overall score. The K-8 rankings are based entirely on publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education. U.S. News does not survey elementary or secondary schools for any of its rankings.

The 2024 Best Elementary and Best Middle Schools rankings are based on publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education. For district-level rankings, at least two of the top performing schools must rank in the top 75% of the overall elementary or middle school rankings to qualify for district-level recognition.

“The 2024 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings offer a way for parents to get a snapshot of their child’s school and how well it is doing compared with other schools in their community,' said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News. “In addition, U.S. News provides easily accessible data on student-teacher ratios, district spending, and the number of counselors a school makes available to its students.”

U.S. News’ K-12 directory lists 119,201 schools, including 96,911 public schools and 22,290 private schools. Among the 79,227 public schools with elementary and/or middle school grades, 62,683 (79%) were ranked in either the elementary or middle schools ranking. These include 4,606 schools ranked in both.

In total, 45,236 elementary schools were ranked and 22,053 middle rants for failure to display driver’s license and two for speeding. During the stop, a pill, believed to be fentanyl, was located on the ground directly beside him. When his clothing was shaken, a plastic bag containing additional fentanyl tablets fell out of his pants. He was arrested for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute at that time. Other prior arrests occurred on Sunday, May 21, 2023 in Sulphur Springs for a warrant for failing to maintain financial responsibility. He was also alleged to have drug paraphernalia and half of a pill suspected to be oxycodone hydrochloride, according to arrest

reports.

Hill was also arrested by Emory police at 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021 and transported to the Rains/Hopkins County line, where he was turned over to Hopkins County deputies for transport to the jail in Sulphur Springs. He was booked in around 11:15 p.m. on Hopkins County warrants for assault causing bodily injury and violation of probation on a possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana in a drug-free zone.

As of approximately 2:20 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 28, both had been charged with murder, and bond has been set at $1 million each.

Wooten’s funeral is set for Saturday, Dec. 30 at 2:30 p.m. at Shannon Oaks Church. Interment will be in the Como Cemetery. lots of pallbearers and honorary. Wooten died Saturday, dec. 23. He was born Oct. 4, 2002 in Sulphur Springs to Adrian Wooten and Jessie (Fite) Givens. After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. He enjoyed being in the outdoors, fishing, riding ATVs, hiking and was a huge sports fan. His other passion included writing philosophy in his spare time. There was never a dull moment with Brayden and he will be truly missed.

Brayden is survived by his parents, Jessie and Aaron Givens; brothers and sisters, Adrienne Wooten, Malik Wooten, Adrian Jr. Wooten, Trey Wooten, Daedrieyon Wooten, Breana Wooten, Aisen Givens; grandmother, Sheri Dunaway; aunts, Krista Hoofard, Celesia Wooten; cousins, Shelby Dunaway, Christian Ingram, Dylan Ingram; and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his father, Adrian Wooten; grandfather, Ralph Doss; and uncles Justin Fite, Richard Pool and David Pool.