Hobson director tabbed ‘Teacher of the Year’ 

By Kevin Taylor

Alma Schools 

Danny Hobson carries a little piece of his past wherever he goes. Standing before his peers Thursday morning, Hobson choked back tears while remembering former Alma choir director Mat Whitworth. 

Hobson hoisted his Alma Public Schools Teacher of the Year plaque while remembering his friend. He spoke of others, too. 

“He (Whitworth) meant a lot to a lot of us,” Hobson said. “He did so much for me when I first got here.”

Alma's High School Drama Director figured he would follow his dad into business. 

But his plans were altered in his first year in college. 

“I think I was always interested in theater, but I was never in theater,” Hobson said. “I wasn’t a theater nerd; I didn’t grow up knowing much about it. But I remember being sent out in the hall during French class, and at the end of the hall was the theater room, and I remember looking down there and thinking, ‘I wonder what goes on in there?’ 

“But no one ever introduced it to me.” 

A graduate of Springdale High School, Hobson took a couple of theater classes while at Arkansas Tech. 

Then one day, after getting his foot in the door at a middle school in Northwest Arkansas, Hobson made it a point to pull kids into drama who might not have otherwise been interested. 

“That became my motivation when I started getting into drama, which was just an after-school program, was to introduce them to theater,” Hobson said. “This all started when I was teaching Social Studies. I would write little Greek skits for my sixth graders and they would perform them for their peers, and that grew into a full-length production, and it just sort of snowballed from there.”

Hobson’s mom, Judy, is a longtime Springdale Public Schools employee and former principal. His sister (Caryn Pierce) was a beloved Springdale elementary music teacher, and his grandparents (Mildred and Pete Austin) also taught school. 

“My dad (Danny) was in business, and I thought that was the path that I was going to follow,” Hobson said. “I started my freshman year of college majoring in business, but I struggled with Algebra, and they (ATU) said I was going to have to take trigonometry and calculus, so I was like, ‘I need to rethink this.’

“Education was a natural fit.”

“I think it validates the foundation of Alma (Schools), which is to have kids involved in activities,” Alma Assistant High School Principal Dr. Jason Reeves said. “When kids are involved, they come to school, and the things they learn are the things that help them succeed in life. His being recognized (Teacher of the Year) is validation that those programs matter.”

“I think his (Hobson) expectations of kids, and how hard they work, make it all come together,” Alma assistant principal Manesseh Moore said. “I got to be backstage several years ago when Sammy (Moore) was in one of the productions, and it’s amazing the level of professionalism those kids show. We see it on the stage, but even backstage, those skills are universal for making successful humans. 

Hobson eventually gravitated toward history because he loved “western (civilization) while in college,” he said. 

Upon reaching out to Alma, who had posted an opening after Terry McGonigle announced he was leaving, a one-hour phone call with former Alma Superintendent of Schools David Woolly turned into a five-hour visit. 

“I knew I was filling some big shoes with Terry McGonigle,” Hobson said. “His reputation is nationwide. I was very honored to be taking over for such a respected director in such a respected program. I don’t even think I understood the level of support and backing for the performing arts. 

“I knew it was big, but I didn’t realize it was this big until I was hired and got on the job.”