Q&A: Rosemount Middle School Principal Mary Thompson

Each week, Rosemount Patch speaks with a local educator about their job, their students and how the District 196 budget cuts will impact their school. This week, Julie Bergh spoke with Rosemount Middle School principal Mary Thompson.

Rosemount Patch: Principal Thompson, please tell us a little about your career…

Principal Thompson: Well, I’ve been involved in education for over 32 years. I started my career as a Special Education teacher and did that for eight years.  After that, I applied at Rosemount Schools and have been involved there in one way or another since.

Rosemount Patch:  With all of the budget cuts and belt-tightening taking place in District 196, specifically what is being affected at Rosemount Middle School?

Principal Thompson:  There’s good and bad mixed in with the new plans. The good is that we will giving more core instructional time to the students. But, this comes with a price. Sadly, with the restructuring process, we’re going to lose some really good teachers. In and of itself that’s a very challenging thing because everyone feels like family here. 

Rosemount Patch:  Rosemount Middle School is undergoing a restructuring next year that will shift the class schedules from eight periods to six periods. How is that change going to impact the school?

Principal Thompson:  First of all, this of course means losing teachers. We are not thrilled with that aspect. As you said, we will be decreasing our class periods from eight to six per day. Five of the six will be instructional – the sixth is for teacher preparation. During the five periods of instruction, teachers will be more able to focus on core curriculum and questions that the students may have. So that is a beneficial factor that is involved in the restructuring.

Rosemount Patch:  If you could save one thing that’s on the chopping block right now, what would it be?

Principal Thompson:  Realistically, I have more than just one… First of all, it’s ideal to keep class sizes small and at a level that is effective for both the teachers who are teaching the children as well as the learning ability for the students involved in the classes. The bigger the class size, the more challenging it can be to effectively educate. Secondly, we would like to keep the teachers we currently have on board as well as maintain the staff we have. We work well together and are like a family.

Rosemount Patch:  Activity fees for students are rising again next year. Are you concerned that the increase might discourage some students from participating in activities because of the rising costs?

Principal Thompson:  Well, what most people don’t know is that all of our activity fees are based through the district office – not through each individual school. The district office has it’s own formula for devising the activity fees based on the actual costs involved. Additionally, the district offers scholarships for students who are unable to afford the activity fees. We hope that more people take advantage of the scholarships, as these programs are important and foster growth in our students. As far as what’s been capped: we no longer have after school activity busses running the students home because of the expense involved.

Rosemount Patch: What excites you about Rosemount Middle School in regards to education?

Principal Thompson:  So many things! We provide a very good comprehensive education here at Rosemount Middle School and we have excellent teachers and staff.... I’m also excited that our students have more choices – more option with electives that they can take. We offer band and choir plus three languages!