What a difference 36 years can make.
In 1987, Jason Thompson was sitting next to Dr. Don Coker at Calhoun Middle School, helping his basketball coach grade papers and stock the concession.
Now, Thompson sits at the Ouachita Parish School Board Central Office as the newly appointed personnel director. Thompson took over the position for Todd Guice, who was named the incoming Superintendent to replace Coker, who retired on July 3rd after 8 years as Superintendent.
“He didn’t know I ate half his (concession) stock,” Thompson said with a laugh. “Never would I have ever imagined 1987 would turn into the seat I am sitting in now in 2023. We have a long history, and I am forever grateful.”
While eating the concession stand stock, Thompson did not know at the time that he would be following a similar path to Coker’s as a teacher, coach, and later, as a principal.
“I just remember him being consistent and fair in everything he did,” Thompson said. “I tried to take that into my career as an educator too. You may not like what I say or do, but it’s consistent and it’s fair.”
Thompson started his education career in 1995 at Woodlawn Middle School. He had stops as a baseball head coach at West Ouachita, Ouachita and Neville. After one season in baseball at Neville, he made the switch to football with the Tigers, and that would ultimately land him the head coaching job at Sterlington in 2014.
“I never really thought about this until Mr. Guice brought this up, but I have worked on both sides of the river,” Thompson said. “I have worked at the middle school level, and I’ve worked at the high school level. So over a 28-year period now, I think 19 of which have been in this district, I have developed a lot of relationships and a lot of friendships within the district. So, there’s a lot of people I know and a lot of people that know me. I hope they know that I’m going to try to be fair – the whole firm, fair, consistent thing.”
After winning a state championship at Sterlington in 2016, Thompson spent the next 6 years as the school’s principal. He made the move to personnel director this past March, and if his phone isn’t ringing, it’s dinging with texts and/or emails.
With Coker’s retirement comes the trickle effect with other Central Office employees retiring too.
“He (Guice) made it clear you’re coming in at a really, really busy time anyway, then you throw in on top of it, all the movement we’ve got beginning at the Central Office that trickles down into the campus level, it’s been a lot,” Thompson said. “So what all does that guy do? I’m still trying to figure that out.”
The job responsibilities cover a lot of ground from staffing to checking certifications to budgeting, just to name a few. It looks a little different than Thompson’s days as a teacher and a coach, and even a principal, but it has one detail that speaks to his nature.
“I always have enjoyed being in a position to help,” Thompson said. “I’m in a position to help people find jobs, help school staff, but at the same time it’s the old double edge sword that I have to be careful because every principal at every campus has needs. It’s my job to decipher the difference between a need and a want because I was a principal, and I know our teachers have a big responsibility.
“We want to provide them with all the tools that we can, but at the same time, we’ve got to be budget-friendly while trying to do so, and that’s a tough job.”
THE THOMPSON FILE
1995 – Woodlawn Middle School, Health & PE
1996 – Washington School, Greenville Mississippi, Head Baseball Coach
1997-1999 – West Ouachita High School, Social Studies Teacher, Coach
2000-2004 – Ouachita High School, Social Studies Teacher, Coach
2004-2013 – Neville High School, Social Studies Teacher, Coach
2013-2017 – Sterlington High School, Head Football Coach, Athletic Director
2017 – Sterlington High School, Assistant Principal
2017-2023 – Sterlington High School, Principal
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