The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
District leader strives for innovation
Superintendent Jack Thompson stresses importance of developing programs to serve next generation of students
Persistence proved to be the key for Jack Thompson in getting hired by the Perry School District.
Back in 2011, Thompson was serving as assistant superintendent of Kenston Schools. Around that same time, he learned that Perry was looking for a new superintendent. He decided to apply, even though his previous attempts to secure other positions in the Perry district were unsuccessful.
“I had applied at Perry a number of times and had not even gotten an interview,” Thompson said. “I got the ‘Hey, we’ll keep you on file for a couple of years’ line. So I had always had my eye on Perry, as a high-performing district. I thought it would be a place I’d enjoy working.”
It turned out that Thompson was among 32 applicants in 2011 who sought to fill the superintendent vacancy created when Michael Sawyers resigned in 2010, a previous News-Herald story stated. After being chosen as one of 10 applicants to receive interviews, Thompson rose to the top of the field and was appointed as the new superintendent.
“As things went, I was very fortunate that I was able to be selected,” he said, during a recent interview in which he reflected on his time in Perry Schools and his 30-year career in education.
While Thompson has worked in six different school districts since earning his initial teaching degree, he received all of his education on becoming an educator in one place —
Youngstown State University.
At YSU, he earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education, with a focus in business education; a master’s degree in education administration; principal and superintendent certificates; and a doctorate in educational leadership.
Making the switch
A native of Andover Township in southeastern Ashtabula County, Thompson originally majored in business administration at Youngstown State. He eventually began thinking about becoming a teacher as a way to stay involved with baseball, his favorite sport.
“I thought I would go into business, but then as I realized my athletic career was going to be limited … I thought, well, if I get my education degree, I can coach, and stay with athletics,” Thompson said, recalling that he changed his major to secondary education about two years into his studies at YSU.
Because part of his education coursework got out of sequence and he had to wait to take some methods classes, he began substitute teaching before he got his undergraduate degree.
“I started subbing in Youngstown City Schools,” Thompson said. “Once they found that I would come, they’d call often.”
He said much of his substitute teaching took place at the former South High School, which he described as “probably the toughest inner-city school they had at the time.”
“So that’s where I got my start,” Thompson said. “They were paying well back then, so I think I got about a half-year of credit in education there as a sub.”
Getting started
After graduating, Thompson was hired for his first teaching job at Jefferson High School in Ashtabula County. Jefferson, coincidentally, was an arch-rival of Thompson’s high school, Pymatuning Valley in Andover Township.
“I ended up teaching business classes and I spent nine years there at Jefferson, teaching accounting, business law and what became computer applications,” said Thompson, noting that he also coached the high school’s varsity baseball team.
Once Thompson earned his master’s degree and principal certificate, he entered the administrative realm of education by serving as assistant principal for one year at LaMuth Middle School in Concord Township.
From there, he headed to Madison High School, where he worked as assistant principal’s position for about four years.
Thompson then secured his first job as a principal at Kirtland.
“I had a wonderful experience at Kirtland,” he said. “Outstanding district, closeknit community, strong academic school.”
During his five-year stretch at Kirtland High School, Thompson received his doctorate degree. His next career move also represented a step up from the principal’s office.
Higher levels
“I went to Kenston Schools as assistant superintendent,” Thompson said.
Throughout his four years in Kenston, he commuted every day to the district office in Bainbridge Township from his home in Madison Township, where he resided with his family.
When the superintendent’s position in Perry opened up, Thompson was attracted to it not only because of the quality of the school district, but also because it was close to home.
“My three kids at that point were really involved in the Madison Schools system, and all the activities in the community, so I was hesitant to ever want to move them, but if I was going to stay at Kenston, at some point we were going to have to make that decision,” Thompson said.
Praising Perry
Although Perry Schools is located in a small, close-knit community, the district still offers “big school kind of programs,” Thompson said.
“We have the capability to be very innovative and creative in providing programming to our kids in the school system,” he said. “So it’s exciting in the idea that we’re not just trying to stay afloat, we’re also trying to continually improve and get better at providing the services we do, to the students of this community. That keeps things fresh and that keeps us moving.”
This month marks the ninth anniversary of Thompson’s hiring. He said during that time he’s been very focused on “establishing a caring environment that’s going to be conducive to learning.” To achieve that, it’s vital to gain the trust of district students parents, faculty and other stakeholders, he added.
“And I hope that when people think about the past nine years here, the things we’ve said we were going to do, we’ve done,” he said. “We haven’t made false promises.
“I hope that as a result of our work, we can say that we have a more positive, caring culture and a level of trust that we’re in this together. That’s what I hope. That’s what we strive to do.”
One of Thompson’s highest priorities for the future of Perry Schools is to ensure that the district keeps working at developing innovative programming that’s going to serve the next generation of students.
“They have a unique set of needs and desires and we’ve got to continue to adapt and change to meet those needs,” he said. “We’re not going to be able to do school the way we’ve always done it. And the quicker we just realize that and start to adjust and adapt, the better we’re going to be.”