Greetings Thompson School District Students, Parents, Staff and Community Members:
May is upon us and so are the final days of the 2018-19 school year. This has been a phenomenal year and one that has seen an incredible number of accomplishments and successes within Thompson School District. At the start of the year, we identified four key priorities to focus on within TSD:
- Exceptional Student Achievement — with an emphasis on improving graduation rates, focusing on early literacy and offering a rigorous, coherent and relevant educational program for our students
- Social Emotional Safety and School Security
- Recruiting, Attracting and Retaining best-in-class employees in Thompson School District
- Improving the image of the district, securing stronger community partnerships and increasing positive messaging and communications within the TSD community
As we emerge, we have much to celebrate and be proud of. We also have exciting work ahead of us as we continue to refine, shape and enhance the educational experiences we want for our 16,000 students.
While there are many things I could highlight as our successes and accomplishments, I would like to focus on these top-ten achievements:
- The successful passage of a $149 million bond and $13.9 million mill levy override. These initiatives have allowed the district to address maintenance backlog issues, improve building infrastructure, create additional space at our Berthoud schools, fund a new PreK-8 school on the eastern side of our district, address safety concerns, upgrade technology, provide for curriculum updates and materials and provide more competitive salaries for our employees.
- The investment and deployment of over $1.5 million in technology upgrades and infrastructure into all of our schools
- The re-purposing of Van Buren Elementary as our new Career Technical Education (CTE) center to open in the Fall of 2020
- The re-purposing of Stansberry Elementary as our new Early Childhood Education (ECE) center to partially open in the Fall of 2019
- The establishment of a new middle school mathematics and unified elementary literacy curricula to be launched in the Fall of 2019
- The expansion of our School Resource Officer (SRO) program in all of our secondary schools
- The creation and soon-to-be implemented new Strategic Plan for Thompson School District
- The expansion of social-emotional personnel support in our elementary and secondary buildings, coming in the form of additional and enhanced staffing to support our students and our schools
- The purposeful leveraging of student voice through the creation of district student advisory committees
- The expanded partnerships, forums, outreach and communication with the TSD business and at-large communities
To our graduating seniors — Congratulations! We are so proud of you. We are excited for the next chapters in your life, whether it be college, the workforce, the military or anything else you choose to do. We are hopeful that we have played an important part in your development and we look forward to hearing great things about what you will most assuredly accomplish in the years ahead.
To our returning students and staff – Enjoy your summer! We are excited that you will return next year. Please enjoy your summer and engage in pursuits that you will find most fulfilling – be it work, play, learning, travel and/or rest.
And to our community – Thank you for being valuable and necessary partners and for entrusting us to serve our students and our community. The future of Thompson School District continues to be bright and our potential is limitless and exciting. We appreciate your support and your partnership.
In closing, this has been an incredible year for TSD. We will build upon the optimism and trust that the community has provided this year. Have a wonderful and enriching summer. We will see you all in August for what promises to be another transformational year for Thompson School District.
Sincerely,
Dr. Marc Schaffer
Superintendent
Thompson School District