‘Grace and patience’: Wichita superintendent Alicia Thompson says farewell

Alicia Thompson, the first woman and first Black superintendent of Wichita Public Schools, gave an emotional farewell speech at Monday’s school board meeting, her last before Kelly Bielefeld takes over as superintendent on July 1.

“My mother was a teacher in this school district and I’ve been walking the Wichita Public Schools pretty much all my life — as a student, as a professional,” said Thompson, who has worked in the district for 31 years and is retiring at the end of the school year.

Thompson started as a kindergarten teacher at Ingalls Elementary School before taking on assistant principal and principal roles and working in staff development. She became superintendent of Kansas’ largest school district in 2017.

“I’m going to first off say thank you to the board of education for believing in me and elevating me to this awesome responsibility. I did not take it lightly,” Thompson said.

“Thank you to the leadership team. Thank you for being my second family.”

She went on to thank students, parents and staff.

“For 31 years, you trusted me and others in this district to take on your greatest asset, which is your children, so thank you, families, for allowing us to serve your students and to serve you,” Thompson said.

“I can’t think of a more worthy profession or mission than to strive each and every day to serve the students of this wonderful school district.”

Leaving a legacy

On Thompson’s watch, Wichita schools underwent the transition to online learning and back to in-person instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We know that safety continues to be a critical focus for us, but we did keep ourselves safe during some really tough times when safety was a concern to most,” Thompson said.

Board members thanked the outgoing official for her leadership during tumultuous times.

“At one of our very first meetings after COVID had broke, she said something to the effect like, ‘We need to use grace and patience,’” board member Stan Reeser said. “And I was sitting right over there and I thought, ‘You know, that’s kind of the kindergarten teacher approach to this. I think we’re going to need a little more substance on this COVID thing. But you know, I have kept going back to grace and patience, not only in the school board but in my private life.

“It was the greatest lesson I ever learned from you, Dr. Thompson,” Reeser said.

Tears came to his eyes as he recounted visiting schools alongside Thompson.

“You see the little girls look at Dr. Thompson and they see their potential. That has been the greatest highlight of my career so far,” Reeser said. “I apologize for crying. Maybe it’s because I’m the father of three girls, but I think we sometimes forget how important diversity is, and when people see somebody that looks like them, it can mean the world. And so I will never forget those looks.”

School board President Sheril Logan, who started working in Wichita schools in 1969 and is not seeking re-election in November, said she wished Thompson could stay longer.

“I started with [Alvin Morris] and I have been through and with a lot of superintendents since then — some who stayed a long time, some who stayed a very, very short time,” Logan said. “Your time wasn’t anywhere close to long enough. You are by far the best superintendent I’ve ever worked with.”

Board member Kathy Bond also expressed her admiration.

“Dr. Thompson, I would like to say something to you. You are many things that people have said about you all evening tonight, but there’s only one word I can think of — ‘beloved,’” Bond said. “You are a beloved person among the community and the district.”

During Thompson’s tenure, Wichita’s graduation rates have improved and the district’s college and career readiness programs have been expanded.

“We have come a long way on that side from the strategic meetings when those families were like, ‘It’s not all about college. Give us something else to work with,’ and so we began to build that work, and thank you for that,” Thompson said. “And then it’s punctuated at the end of this year by a ribbon-cutting ceremony for our future-ready center for advanced manufacturing on May 19.

“It is going to be impactful to this community and the workforce that we need.”

Thompson said she will do everything she can to support incoming superintendent Bielefeld during the transition.

She has a daughter who will graduate from USD 259 next year, and she said she looks forward to spending more time with family.

“From the sidelines, I will be cheering on the Wichita Public Schools until the day I die, because I am definitely WPS proud,” Thompson said. “For those of you who are wondering what I will do next, the short answer is to rest.

“I will just spend time eating popcorn and Hot Tamales and resting and catching up on Netflix shows that everybody talks about that I have no idea what they’re talking about because I don’t ever have time to watch them.”

This story was originally published May 8, 2023 at 10:12 PM.