Dear Thompson Community:
These past few weeks within the district have been especially busy. After beginning the school year with fully remote classes, students are now beginning to return to our schools in a staggered fashion for in-person instruction. The classrooms and hallways have students in them once again and it has been wonderful to welcome them back after a long time away from our campuses. Navigating the pandemic has been a huge challenge for our families, staff and community, and we are so thankful for the patience and support that we continue to receive.
Thompson Career Campus
One of the milestone events for our district is the opening of the new Ferguson High School and Thompson Career Campus in Loveland. This project afforded us with a perfect opportunity to transform the recently closed Van Buren Elementary School into a new campus that now houses a wonderful new learning environment for our Ferguson High School students and an extension of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) options that we are able to offer our high school students. Each of the other high schools in our district will continue to offer robust CTE programs to our students. The new Thompson Career Campus truly is an extension of the amazing programming that we can offer.
In particular, the campus will offer the following options for students. Each one consists of a two-year pathway that is spread across four semesters of study.
Construction Skilled Trades Pathway
The Construction Skilled Trades pathway will prepare students in the industry-focused areas of electrical, plumbing, construction, HVAC and more.
Health Sciences Pathway
Students in the Health Sciences pathway will learn to work as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) in a variety of health care environments to include long-term care and rehabilitation facilities, hospitals and home health care facilities. Students will also have the opportunity to explore the Medical Assisting career field.
Information Technology Pathway
Students in the Information Technology pathway will obtain skills in new, cutting edge Information Technology fields and will have the ability to earn a variety of industry-focused IT certifications.
Manufacturing and Design Pathway
Students in the Manufacturing and Design pathway will learn to use lathes, drill presses, milling machines and CNC routers. They will also receive extensive training in advanced processes, including computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) programming.
The pathways offered at the Thompson Career Campus are the result of careful consideration of feedback from our families, local businesses and community members. We truly believe that these programs — as well as the options we offer throughout the high schools — are excellent opportunities for our students to explore potential careers and take significant steps that will benefit them after high school. On Monday, October 26, we will be hosting a virtual celebration of the campus opening as well as in-person tours for community members who would like to take a look.
The new site would not be possible without the tremendous support of our voters through the 2018 bond ballot measure as well as our sponsors and business partners who have helped us to bring the project to life. On behalf of the thousands of students who now have a new high school to study in and a new career campus in which to expand their horizons, we thank you so much for your support.
Regards,
Dr. Marc Schaffer
Superintendent
Thompson School District