Decatur County Middle School honors teachers, teams for student support

Kayla Tharp took Teacher of the Year and Jill Farlow earned the Trailblazer Award as Decatur County Middle School used its 2026 teacher and team honors to spotlight the staff driving student support at 2740 Hwy. 641 South in Parsons.

The school also named Jacie Hayes its Green Apple Award winner, recognizing her as a rising star in just her first three years. The Access for All Team of the Year went to Mary McBride, Ericca King, Jessica Munz and Lori McCollum, a group the school said worked to keep students connected to grade-level content and the help they need to succeed.

Tharp’s recognition carried added weight because it followed a string of earlier honors. She was named Decatur County Middle School Teacher of the Month in April 2024 and then Decatur County District Teacher of the Month for March 2024. In a 2024 profile, Tharp was identified as a 7th grade English teacher and a Riverside High School graduate, a background that tied one of the district’s top classroom honors to a local product now shaping instruction at the middle school level.

Farlow’s Trailblazer Award pointed to work beyond a single classroom. The school highlighted her role in creating new clubs and securing grants, the kind of program-building that brings new resources and opportunities into a small county district. Farlow was previously named Decatur County Middle School Teacher of the Month in January 2023 and Decatur County District Teacher of the Month for April 2024. In that earlier profile, she was described as a STEM teacher in a new position at DCMS, with a reputation for stepping in wherever needed.

The team award underscored a larger shift in how the school is framing success: not just through individual teachers, but through collaborative support structures. McBride, King, Munz and McCollum were recognized for helping make sure students have access to work at grade level and the support to stay there, a message that fits the district’s motto, Every Student Every Day.

The recognition also landed against a broader district effort to elevate staff morale. Decatur County Schools said in November 2024 that it won the Best Appreciation Program in West Tennessee award at a statewide meeting in Nashville, a signal that public recognition of employees has become part of the district’s culture. At the same time, the district has continued to show staffing needs, including a 2026 posting seeking a mathematics teacher for grades 6-12 for the 2026-2027 school year.

Kodi Breeden is listed as principal of Decatur County Middle School, and Melinda J. Thompson is listed as director of Decatur County Schools. Together, the awards and the district’s staffing push show a system trying to reward strong practice while keeping academic support in place for the next school year.