Sid Thompson mentors educators as a volunteer at UCLA
When Sid Thompson decided to retire as superintendent of schools for the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1996 after five years in the hot seat of school politics, his doctor expressed his gratitude.
“My doctor literally said, ‘Thank you. I didn’t know if I could keep you alive because of the pressure,’” Thompson recalled, laughing. “My wife, who was an elementary and middle school principal, and I went out, on average, four nights a week to district events.”
Thompson has not only survived, but thrived after he left as chief of the second largest public school district in the nation to become a senior fellow at Center X, part of UCLA’s Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, where he mentored graduate students from 1997 to his retirement in 2012.
Now working as a volunteer senior fellow at the school’s Principal Leadership Institute, Thompson, 83, remains a beloved fixture in Moore Hall, dispensing not only his professional expertise to graduate students, administrators and educators, but sharing stories that reveal his straightforward approach to education and life in general.
As the first African American superintendent of schools for LAUSD in the wake of the 1992 L.A. riots, Thompson pushed through a number of innovations, including encouraging students to take algebra in the eighth grade before it became a state requirement. He also restructured the unwieldy district into smaller complexes and reorganized K-12 schools so that there was a clearly defined “pipeline” for students and parents that went from elementary school to middle and high school. Although this structure was later changed back to its previous form, Thompson said the smaller complexes made parental support easier for families.
“The idea was to make instruction with the curriculum more accessible to parents,” Thompson said.
But Thompson’s tenure was also characterized by challenges that were described as “legion and intractable” in a 1996 Los Angeles Times story announcing his pending retirement. Headlined “LAUSD Consumes Another One,” the article pointed to the troubling turnover of four superintendents in 10 years.
“Yet, the job had its rewards,” recalled the former superintendent and Pacoima Junior High School math teacher. “I like to work with people — as bad as they can be and as good as they can be. District administration can be an adult world, with adult agendas and culture. As a superintendent, what I missed were the kids. In particular, I liked working with kids because there was still hope for them.”
Many of the issues that Thompson faced as superintendent 18 years ago still exist today in the school district: poorer students, an enormous bilingual population and overcrowded classrooms.
Thompson often says that his goal is to change cultures that accept failure or mediocrity. “I like the idea of accepting that [students] represent us,” said Thompson. “And they must be educated. We will have a permanent underclass unless we break the stranglehold on education. We can do it if we put our minds to it. But if we accept things as ‘the way they are,’ nothing happens.
“Too many children live in poverty, and it’s accepted,” he noted. “We need to look at them as deserving of education, and not use their burdens as an excuse for poor teaching and administration.”
After earning his bachelor’s degree at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Thompson, as a young lieutenant during the Korean conflict, found himself in charge of enlisted men on board ship from urban and rural backgrounds across the U.S., many of whom had not completed high school. So he helped them acquire their GED high school equivalency.
Thompson takes the same approach when counseling UCLA education students, the majority of whom work at schools in underserved, low-income communities. And while he said he appreciates Gov. Brown’s commitment to education, as evidenced by a $30 million boost from the state following the 2013 election, the state is still a long way from having the funds to provide the wraparound services needed for California’s poorest children, he said.
“It’s a national disgrace,” he said. “A lot of these kids need some serious help: food, health, mental health. I don’t think that there is going to be a sudden windfall of money, but as long as the economy keeps inching up, and as long as there is someone like Gov. Brown who has a deep understanding and commitment to education — which I think he does — then I’m optimistic.”
Thompson does acknowledge that the alarming growth in laws designed to limit voter participation for people of color will have adverse effects on educational funding.
“What is happening at the national level is really scary,” he said. “The states typically have their ups and downs, but are not designed to really help the lower socio-economic class and undocumented people … this should happen at the federal level where a lot of [education] funds are generated.”
Thompson still loves the sea and sailing with his son off the Channel Islands. He also enjoys traveling, opera, especially “La Bohème,” and spending time with his blended family, including five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Thompson proudly noted that the family legacy of education will continue; one of his granddaughters, who is attending Cal Poly Pomona, plans to become a teacher.
“The positive feelings I have for the future of education are based upon the talent that I see displayed by the next generation,” said Thompson. “They have high hopes for the improvement of education for the poor and disadvantaged. We need to work with them and, with our experience, give them the authority to try new systems so that they feel a sense of ownership for what can happen to improve the education of our young people.”