Becky Thompson

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  www.thestarpress.com/article/20090216/NEWS01/902160342/ - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 2/16/2009    Last Visited: 2/17/2009  

  "It's like a new building," Principal Rebecca Thompson said, beaming as she described the changes.
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  The weight room and wrestling room are bigger and the gymnastics team has a room to practice beam and bar routines, using the gym for floor exercise routines and the vault, Thompson said.
  
  "The kids were just flabbergasted when they saw this," Thompson said.

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  www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/2008081 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 8/15/2008    Last Visited: 8/15/2008  

  During a morning visit to Southside High School, Principal Rebecca Thompson gave King a tour of the building, pointing out renovated areas such as the classroom suite for severely disabled students.

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  arroyomonthly.com/content.php?news_id=311&start=0&categ - [Cached Version]
  Last Visited: 3/31/2008  

  LACC has come a long way since 1986, when founder Rebecca Thompson launched it as a small children's chorus assembled for a "War Requiem" concert at Pasadena Presbyterian. (Good things come full circle: This January, the chorus will once again perform Benjamin Britten's electrifying piece at Walt Disney Concert Hall, under the baton of Lorin Maazel.)

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  Better Business Bureau - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 12/11/2001    Last Visited: 6/4/2003  

  BECKY THOMPSON, ADMINISTRAT Principal:
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  BECKY THOMPSON

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  Better Business Bureau - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 12/11/2001    Last Visited: 2/16/2003  

  BECKY THOMPSON, ADMINISTRAT Principal:
  
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  BECKY THOMPSON

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  Boston.com / Education - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 6/8/2002    Last Visited: 6/8/2002  

  But all of them are at Walt Whitman because they say they could no longer endure the verbal or physical assaults by public school classmates or the intolerance of their parents, says Becky Thompson, director, counselor, and history teacher at Walt Whitman.
  
  "They need a safe place, and that is what we are trying to provide.It's still about math, English, and teaching them to learn.It comes down to just being kinder and gentler, and asking the same of them," says Thompson, who co-founded the school in 1997 after teaching for nearly two decades in public and private schools.
  
  The school, in the back wing of a red brick church in East Dallas, is publicized by word of mouth.It has only six classrooms; the student body ranges from seven to 26 students in any given year.Core classes include English, math, science, US and world history, government, and economics.Physical education could be bowling or tennis, or a visit to the park.
  
  The school's class sizes are a teacher's delight."Students get a lot of attention.
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  We all sit around a table; students are much more challenged, which helps us to find exactly what they lack in terms of their education," says Thompson.
  
  The school, which is not accredited, has two other full-time teachers.Students are accepted based on need, and those unable to pay the $7,000 annual tuition must assist in fund-raising activities.Until the school can guarantee a three-year revenue source, accreditation remains elusive, says Thompson, who solicits gay groups and corporate sponsors.Texas Instruments recently gave $8,000.
  
  So far, only two of the school's 77 alumni have gone on to college, sidestepping accreditation concerns by first attending open-enrollment community colleges before transfering into other universities.
  
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  What makes all these schools different from mainstream schools, Thompson said, "is remembering this is all just about kids.They want to find out who they really are, and that's the real process."
  
  "We just say, OK, this is who you are today, but it may not be who you are in 10 years," Thompson said."Meanwhile you still need to learn English and know how to add and subtract, multiply and divide."
  
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  Conference Schedule - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 11/25/2000    Last Visited: 3/10/2001  

  Becky Thompson , The Walt Whitman Community School

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  Dallas Voice - The Community Newspaper for Gay &... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 3/13/2004    Last Visited: 3/13/2004  

  Accreditation, funding issues doom school's '04-'05 school year, leaders say; as an official sign of bad fortune, Thompson goes off payroll next month
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  Thompson said her initial response was, "How would you do that?"
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  When some of the first students who wanted to attend Walt Whitman said they were unable to afford the tuition, Thompson said they could attend.
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  From the time the school opened, organizers knew accreditation was an important goal, Thompson said.The plan was to be up-and-running three years, then apply for accreditation, she added.The problem was that students who needed the school were unable to afford tuition.Because students the school targeted often lacked parental support, they were unable to pay tuition.When administrators realized they would be unable to count on tuition as a source of funding, they started looking to the community for support, Thompson said."After the first 18 months, the community embraced us and became such a wonderful force," Thompson said.But even with the new support, another problem was developing, Thompson said.People put their money into Walt Whitman with a picture of a traditional school, Thompson explained, and it was hard for administrators to make the community understand the alternative style of education happening inside the doors.
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  The school was reaching out to students who had fallen through the cracks of the public school system - not trying to segregate GLBT students, Thompson explained.Thompson said her philosophy is to give the students some responsibility, so they know how to deal with it when they are out of school, and show them the real consequences to their actions, not the black and white results students get in public schools."Your own initiative is what gets you places," Thompson said.As the school grew, and administrators looked for ways to house new students, Thompson said she found herself mothering the students and holding the community at arms-length.The school started its host family program, and people applying to house students failed to realize the students were often much different from them, Thompson said.A lot of the volunteers were unprepared to deal with the students and their issues, she added."That's why the host family program wasn't working out."
  
  Funding and accreditation issues Thompson said she understands the problems the Southern Association of Accredited Colleges and Schools had with Walt Whitman."What they were saying is the people who are using your product aren't the people who are paying for your product," Thompson said.
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  Thompson said.
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  Thompson said the financial planning for Walt Whitman could have been done no differently.
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  Thompson and McCrocklin agreed that, if Walt Whitman had kept operating but ceased to identify as a "school," much of the already-existing funding would disappear.
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  People wanted to give their money to that," Thompson said.
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  Thompson said the school's accreditation task force's answer was partnering with Winfree Academy Charter School, a school providingSee THE END on PAGE 13accredited diplomas.
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  Thompson said she knows that the school has had an impact on the lives of several students and the community.
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  Thompson will be removed from the Walt Whitman payroll in April.E-mail geralds@dallasvoice.com
  
  Becky Thompson, founder and executive director of Walt Whitman Community School: "Your initiative is what gets you places."

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  Dallas Voice - The Community Newspaper for Gay &... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 2/7/2004    Last Visited: 2/7/2004  

  "We think it's a win-win situation," said Becky Thompson, executive director of Walt Whitman Community School.Thompson said as Walt Whitman administrators were trying to figure out a plan for the future of the institution, Winfree Academy kept coming up as an option.
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  Thompson, who will keep her position as director, said she will be able to focus more on maintaining the community atmosphere for students and much less on administrative duties, which she prefers."We'll still be our own program," Thompson said, which means Walt Whitman will continue to need the financial support of the community.
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  Thompson said Walt Whitman was advised that Winfree Academy was one of the more gay-friendly charter schools.
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  One advantage of Walt Whitman's partnership with Winfree Academy, Thompson continued, is it will "integrate our kids into the mainstream."Thompson said, from Walt Whitman's inception, people have been asking, "Why are you segregating those kids?"
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  Thompson hesitated to speculate on the number of students interested in attending this fall.Walt Whitman teachers who want to stay involved with the school have the options of applying to teach at Winfree Academy, applying to head programs for Walt Whitman or volunteering, Thompson said.
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  Students will attend class at Winfree Academy four hours a day, Thompson explained, and after classes, they can take advantage of Walt Whitman programs."It's a partnership, and I think it's an equal partnership," Thompson said.

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  Dallas Voice - The Community Newspaper for Gay &... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 6/27/2003    Last Visited: 6/27/2003  

  This summer is a "real crucial summer for us," said school director Becky Thompson.Not only is the school focused on "survival," but "transition and growth" are a bigger part of the picture since the airing of the MTV's School's Out: The Anatomy of a Gay High School.Since the School's Out special was shown, Thompson has received 30 calls from out-of-state students and 10 from local teens interested in attending Walt Whitman Community School.Thompson said she thought it ironic that several local teens first heard of the school by watching the nationally broadcast MTV special.The program, featuring Walt Whitman Community School students and administrators, has been televised once a month since April, and Thompson expects MTV to air the special a couple more times."We really are looking to open with 30 students this fall," the school's original goal six years ago, said Thompson.She said she plans to "kind of put a push on everybody to see how many are coming."
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  "We're hoping to have them be a little bit more responsible" for their education, Thompson said of the students.The work-study program will allow students to work at odd jobs around 20 hours a month to help pay their tuition."Students at Walt Whitman are already required to do community service and attend a life skills class," she said, and the work-study program "is a natural extension of that."
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  The school is looking for people in the are who have odd jobs that one or two teens can do, Thompson said, and."as long as DART goes there, we can probably get the kids there.Several students 14-16 years old have called expressing interest in attending Walt Whitman Community School, Thompson said, and those students could benefit tremendously from the work-study program.The work-study program will also be another step toward accreditation, Thompson said, because an accrediting agency would see that students and parents are taking more financial responsibility.Some 18 and 19 years olds are very interested in finishing high school, as well, Thompson added, and she hopes those students can take advantage of the school's current work program, which helps find more permanent, long-term employment.The work program for older students may require them to work 20-40 hours a week, Thompson said.The school is also trying to establish a program that helps those 18 years old and up find affordable independent living situations, Thompson said.For the younger students who need a place to stay, training for the host family programs and mentoring begins in July.Mentoring and hosting take commitment, Thompson said, with training sessions covering two Saturdays or four Thursday evenings.Hosts and mentors should live in the Metroplex and be over 25 years old.Host families are also required to have proper insurance coverage.Host families are committing to providing room and board for a young person, Thompson said, and becoming a host family is "a process."Some needing host families are local teens with difficult home situations who will basically just need a place to stay Monday through Thursday, Thompson said.Others from across the country will need a full-time home.When the mentoring program was first established, just teens living with host families had mentors, Thompson said, but last year, there were enough mentors for each student.Mentors commit to meeting with a student regularly, Thompson said, and acting as a problem-solver or a "safety valve" - someone students can talk to about problems at school, at home, at work or with friends."We've always been looking for … as many positive role models for these young people as possible," Thompson said, and providing work and mentor opportunities is a way to make sure teens know more people than just those at school or at home.Jimmy Owens with Park Cities Counseling helps with mentor training, Thompson said, which is ongoing, with sessions once every two months.
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  Becky Thompson, principal of Walt Whitman Community School . . . "We really are looking to open with 30 students this fall."

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