Dr. Tara Thompson

I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have taught in South Carolina for 28 years. For the past eleven years, I've served as a Reading Coach and Response to Intervention Specialist at Chapin Elementary School. Before this role, I spent eight years as a reading interventionist for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, and prior to that, I taught preschool, kindergarten, first, and second grades as a classroom teacher. I earned my doctorate from the University of South Carolina in 2018, and my passion for teaching and learning with both teachers and students drives everything I do.

My mission is to support teachers in advancing the reading progress of every student by creating a fun, challenging, and enriched learning environment that helps each child reach their full academic potential. Together with teachers, I aim to build classroom communities where everyone—students, teachers, and myself—engages as learners. Through our interactions with texts and each other, we’ll explore and celebrate our understanding, allowing each individual’s interpretation to shine. This approach fosters readers and writers who:

- Recognize that reading is a process of making meaning

- Have confidence in their ability to comprehend text

- Choose to read for various purposes, finding joy and engagement in the process

I believe that when parents, teachers, and students collaborate, we create a powerful team that maximizes learning opportunities. I’m excited for a year full of joyful and rigorous learning. The following quote encapsulates my beliefs about nurturing readers and writers.

Choose to have fun. Fun creates enjoyment. Enjoyment invites participation. Participation focuses attention. Attention expands awareness. Awareness promotes insight. Insight generates knowledge. Knowledge facilitates action. Action yields results.

   -Oswald B. Shallow

Phone: 575-5969

Email: tsthomps@lexrich5.org