Hines Named Teacher of the Year

May 27, 2021

Marlow Elementary School teacher Kim Hines was awarded Marlow Public School’s Teacher of the Year at the annual faculty breakfast on Friday.

Hines teaches third grade at the elementary school. She is married to Fred Hines, and both she and Fred are Marlow High School graduates. Together, they have three children: Heath, Stephanie, and Haleigh, who are all Marlow High School graduates and now their grandchildren are Outlaws in their own right. Additionally, Hines’s father, Jim Hupp, is a former teacher and administrator at MPS and began the legacy of excellent educators in this family.

Hines feels that her greatest teaching accomplishment is inspiring two of her own children to also become educators. Teaching has become the family business and she is amazed when she considers the number of lives impacted each year through their classrooms. When you stop and multiply that over a few decades, the number is truly staggering.

Hines’s philosophy for her classroom is very simple: All Children crave learning and structure and it’s our job to provide it.
“Students need to have clear expectations and they need to feel successful, even if small and seemingly inconsequential to most,” Hines said. “Students need to know it is OK to fail, sometimes, but it is how they react to failure that truly matters.”
Her most influential teacher when she was a student is her father.
She said, “I never had him as a teacher, but he was my principal.” Hines stated unequivocally that he was always fair and understanding. She said, “My dad always said, ‘Kids will be kids and don’t judge them based on quick decisions they have made.” She continued,” Treat your students how you would want your own children to be treated.” Her father’s advice is still very relevant today.
When asked what changes she would like to see in Oklahoma’s educational system, Hines said she’d like to education become the top priority for our children, but many times these things are out of educators’ control due to legislation and policy and that she’d rather see a more attainable change such as a better understanding about where our kids come from.
“We need to change the way we view education,” Hines said. “Instead, public Schools need more support for understanding our students’ home environments and family situations. If teachers cannot meet students in all of their struggles, then teachers cannot educate them either.”

Asked what she enjoys most about Marlow Public Schools, Hines replied, “Marlow means so much to my family – we have deep roots here. MHS is where I met my husband. As a child, I roamed these halls while my dad was working. Marlow is where Fred and I decided to stay to raise a family. I’ve worked here 30 years. I currently have 3 grandchildren in school and will have 3 more enrolling in a few short years. To answer what I enjoy most about Marlow Public Schools, it’s that we truly are a family that includes a faculty, staff, students, parents, and a community that takes care of our kids.”

Other nominees for Teacher of the Year were Marlow Middle School teacher Tara Smith and Marlow High School teacher James Brown.