By Lane Smith
Four decades ago, Phillip Thompson was diving for loose balls on the Rockbridge High School basketball court. After graduating, Thompson found himself jumping out of airplanes with the Army’s 82nd Airborne.
A few years later, that same drive led him into a career in teaching.
Now, after 28 years in education – the past nine as head of county schools – Thompson is retiring at the end of this year. He says his time in the military and his career in education have taught him that you can always learn something from a leader.
Thompson said he hopes to end his career on a high note.
“My expectations for myself and for our school division have not changed,” he wrote in a Jan. 16 letter to his colleagues. “And I intend to finish this chapter with the same energy, focus, and sense of purpose that have guided me throughout my time in Rockbridge County Public Schools.”
Thompson, 56, has served as superintendent since July 1, 2017, and he grew up in the county school system. In 1988, he graduated – in a class of 63 students – from what was then known as Rockbridge High School.
A team player on the court and in the sky
Vicki Stevens, a former classmate of Thompson and current principal of Maury River Middle School, said Thompson played an important role on sports teams during his high school days.
“He would be the first to dive to get a basketball or didn’t have any problem taking a charge on the basketball court,” Stevens said. “He was definitely a team player, and he understood what team meant.”
Thompson became a part of the United States Army Reserve, serving part-time in the summer before his senior year until 1995. After graduation, he did some landscaping work before going into the military.
He served in the 82nd Airborne Division, jumping out of airplanes until 1998. He was stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and in Korea. Thompson said his time in the military helped with his leadership skills.
“How to treat people, how to engage people, how to organize and move, let’s say a system, a group of people along a common path for a common good,” Thompson said.
A lifetime of educating
His career in education began at Rockbridge Middle School, now known as Rivermont School Rockbridge. He then taught middle school students in Roanoke County while he got his master’s from Virginia Tech.
He began his administrative career at Floyd County High School as assistant principal. He then went back to Hidden Valley Middle School in Roanoke as an assistant principal. In 2007, Thompson became principal of Maury River Middle School.
In 2013, he became assistant superintendent of Rockbridge County schools, and he took over as superintendent in 2017.
While reflecting on his career, Thompson said he was very proud of the opening of the Rockbridge Innovation Center at Rockbridge County High School.
“I am extremely passionate about career and technical education opportunities for students,” Thompson said. “There’s no reason kids can’t work simultaneously, in a geometry class, and also a building trades class, because they’re very similar – the skills you need.”
Although he doesn’t work directly with students as much as he used to, Thompson said that interaction is the most fun part of his job.
“When I can get into the schools, and be around students, even if I can’t get into classrooms, if I can be in the hallways and be around them in the cafeterias and have conversations,” Thompson said, “that’s my most rewarding time. That’s fun to me. It’s not work.”
Tracy Hinty, supervisor of federal programs for the county school system, attended middle and high school with Thompson.
“Dr. Thompson has spent his entire career dedicated to public service, first in the military and then in public education,” Hinty said. “His unwavering commitment to both is to be commended.”
Stevens said she values Thompson’s understanding of the community he chose to serve.
“It says a lot to the community when a student, a child, a family member, comes back and they want to be here in the community in which they grew up in,” Stevens said. “You don’t see that very often. He’s just a really special guy, and we’ll miss him.”