Yahney-Marie Sangaré
Staff Writer
Mr. Christopher Thompson is the Academy 2 principal at Alexandria City High School. Throughout his years, he has been a U.S. Marine, gone to Harvard University, and worked on Capitol Hill. His story begins in Jamaica, where he lived until moving to Florida at 11.
“Students were more accountable and independent in Jamaica. [Moving to Florida] was a culture shock for me, because I had a very strong accent. I was picked on and teased because of it; I didn’t dress like them,” he said. “At the time, I felt I would have rather stayed in Jamaica.”
In high school, Thompson was introverted and mainly kept to himself. “I wasn’t motivated as a teenager; I didn’t have anyone pushing me or telling me what I needed to do. My mother worked two or three jobs and was never home, and my father wasn’t in my life until I was 17. I didn’t have any direction,” he said. Regardless, a high SAT score got him accepted to Morehouse College, but by the time he received the acceptance letter, he was already in boot camp for the military.
“The military provided me with more guidance and discipline that I needed,” he said.
Thompson went on to serve four years in the Marine Corps and five years in the Air Force Reserves. During his time in the Air Force, he got an associate degree in business management at Keiser University before attending Florida Gulf Coast University for a bachelor’s degree, studying psychology and sociology.
“I had an interest in education and political science as minors, so I was unsure of where my focus was going to be. I joined Kappa Alpha Psi, and crossing in got me to be more outgoing,” he said.
During his time at Florida Gulf Coast University, he did an internship with a congressman on Capitol Hill, where he was witness to conversations about healthcare and education policy.
“I saw how a lot of decisions are made in politics behind the scenes…Policy drives everything,” he said. He was witness to the No Child Left Behind Act and the inverse consequences it had to communities it was meant to benefit. He also began to do substitute teaching in Florida, which began his interest in pursuing education. He later substituted in the Baltimore area.
“I saw students that reminded me of myself when I was in school, who had little direction or motivation and couldn’t see beyond their present. I subbed in a [school with a] pipeline-to-prison environment; I felt I wanted to change that trajectory, for future students, if not these students,” he said. “[Education] wasn’t an initial interest… I became very vocal on issues I care about and wanted to support students of color to matriculate beyond high school.”
Thompson graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Education. He pursued a Master’s Of Arts degree in education at George Washington University while teaching in Montgomery County, and then a Master’s Of Education at Harvard University while being a teacher leader at a boarding school in Baltimore, Maryland. He moved to Ohio to become a building principal in Cleveland before coming to Alexandria, where he is currently pursuing a Ph.D in educational policy at Georgetown University. As an Academy principal, he works to support students in all facets as well as overseeing the English department.
“What’s unique about this school is that we have students and parents from all different levels. It’s difficult to work with students who don’t have structure at home, or who don’t have parents who are highly engaged. I try to build a relationship with students, no matter why they’re coming in here. My goal is to understand what they’re going through, but, oftentimes, it’s outside influences that affect how they act here at the school,” he said, “I believe every child can learn, given the right resources, no matter what circumstances they come from.”
Thompson says that compassion influences his work and life.
“Based on my upbringing, there’s a lot I could have been very upset about; things I could regret, or people I could blame. I’ve used those [challenges] to motivate myself more, and make sure I’m in a good position for my family. In this role, I have to empathize with students. I think that people who know me may think I’m very hard. I think that I come off as very hard because I know the potential students have and look at what they exhibit as against that [potential]. It comes off as ‘tough love’ as they call it, but I try to have compassion, be fair and consistent, and be reflective in all of my work.”
