New principal at the helm of The Island School

Jean Thompson

Thompson succeeds retiring Head of School Rosa Ramos, who has held the position for the past six years. The appointment follows an exhaustive nationwide search conducted under the auspices of Island School board members and search committee co-chairs Mary Keevil and Skip Branin.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have found Jean Thompson to lead our School into the future,” said Freeman. “Jean’s outstanding educational accomplishments, her strong professional background and her dedication to fostering a rigorous, responsive and collaborative academic environment make her a perfect fit for The Island School. We look forward to working with Jean to build upon the solid foundation established by Rosa Ramos and to continue to develop the remarkable potential of The Island School.”

Thompson will assume the duties of Head of School at the official start of the 2012-2013 school year on July 1, 2012.

“I am extremely excited by the opportunity to lead The Island School and become a member of the wonderful Boca Grande community,” said Thompson. “With the incredible resources of the school, the experience and professionalism of the school board, faculty and staff and the continued strong support of the community, I look forward to the fantastic opportunities that we can together provide for the children of Boca Grande.”

Mrs. Thompson has held the position of Assistant Principal of the Heron Creek Middle School in North Port since 2007, following two years as the coordinator for assessment, curriculum and instruction at that school. She has previously held the positions of mathematics teacher and elementary summer school coordinator at the Laurel Nokomis School and as a high school mathematics teacher in the Hillsborough County School District, and at the Anchorage School District in Alaska.

In her only hiatus from the world of education, Thompson served as assistant to the chief financial officer of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001.

Thompson holds a bachelor of science degree in secondary education, mathematics, from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

She received further education in school leadership from the Leadership Academy of the Sarasota School District and studied the Art of School Leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Thompson has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2009 University of Florida Distinguished Educator Award and the Sarasota County Assistant Principal of the Year Award the same year.

She has been named Teacher of the Year at both the Heron Creek Middle School in 2006 and the Anchorage, Alaska Middle School of Science in 1998.

She was also selected to present to United States Secretary of Education Richard Riley in 1998 and was nominated for the ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award in 2006 as well as the BP Teacher of Excellence Award in 1996.

She is a long-time member of the association for supervision and curriculum development.

A resident of Englewood for the past nine years, Thompson lives with her husband, Billy, a 747 pilot for Southern Air, a goldendoodle and a labradoodle. She is an avid runner and triathlete who enjoys fishing and sailing.View More images >>