Greetings Thompson Community:
Thompson School District employs nearly 2,100 employees who contribute to the day-to-day operations of our district. From our school-based staff to our district-level workers, each of our employees give so much of themselves to ensure that our school district serves our students and community in an exemplary manner.
Over the last several weeks and months, I have had the privilege to “walk in the shoes” of a number of different employee groups to have a deeper and better understanding of the work they do on a daily basis. For example, in the fall I had the opportunity to serve as a substitute teacher at the elementary, middle and high school levels. This month, I rode a school bus, worked at a middle school as a custodian and also spent some time outside with our maintenance and operations team plowing and moving snow. Having these unique and authentic working experiences with valuable employees of TSD gives me a clearer perspective on what it takes to maintain the daily operations of our district. It also reminds me that we truly have an exceptional and dedicated staff. In this month’s community letter, I would like to highlight and showcase our transportation and maintenance/operations teams.
The Thompson School District Transportation Department is dedicated to providing safe, timely and efficient services for our district. The department operates sixty-five daily routes, traveling over 5,000 miles and transporting more than 4,800 students each day when school is in session. The work usually begins well before 6:00 am and can last long into the evening hours. The current staff of approximately 130 safety professionals provides general transportation routing services, special education routing services, extracurricular/athletic trip support, district shuttle services, summer program support, as well as paraprofessional and crossing guard services for the district. The team of mechanics work year-round to service, maintain and repair our entire district vehicle fleet. As you may have seen and read in news reports, our country is currently experiencing a continued and unprecedented shortage in school bus drivers and transportation staff. Our amazing team remains committed to providing this wide range of services for our district while focusing on the safety of our students, staff and community each day.
Now more than ever, we have been relying on our custodial and maintenance crews to keep our buildings safe and open for learning. From COVID impacts and staff shortages, to snow and ice removal, our dedicated staff have continued to step up. Many staff are working extra shifts and coming in early to clear snow and are also staying late to clean buildings and cover for vacancies or staff who are out sick. This has involved a lot of cross-training, including our building maintenance staff coming in at midnight to clear our lots, and management and maintenance staff cleaning buildings. All of this is in addition to regular duties: taking care of roof leaks, plumbing concerns, temperature issues, etc. Our slim grounds maintenance crew has continued to work over the weekends clearing snow and sanding for events. Custodians have been working together to make sure tasks are covered, while also continuing to build relationships with students in our schools. While this time has been very taxing, as it has been for many across the district, the perseverance and teamwork of the crew has been amazing, with the continued goal to support our students, staff and community.
The simple truth is that without these dedicated people–as well as all of the other staff members throughout our district–we would not be able to continue to provide the exceptional education and service that our students and families deserve. I am so thankful for each and every one of our team members. Thank you as always for your continued support and for all that you do for our entire Thompson community.
Dr. Marc Schaffer
Superintendent
Thompson School District