ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Claire Thompson graduated in 2012 from Michigan State University, and after some time teaching music at two USD 480 elementary schools, she will now be teaching at another school known for the color green.
Thompson was recently hired as the instrumental music instructor at Seward County Community College. She came to Liberal in 2012 after a friend put her in touch with a local principal.
“I interviewed and accepted the position and moved out here a week later and started right away,” she said.
Thompson said her initial dream was to be a band director, but she chose to start as an elementary teacher, starting at Liberal’s McDermott Elementary before moving to Prairie View Elementary.
“I’ve been here for a total of 12 years,” she said.
By trade, Thompson is a flute player, having played the instrument since age 12, and she said she knew she wanted to be a teacher in middle school.
“My middle school band director was amazing and had such a positive influence that I knew I wanted to be just like her,” she said.
Now with her new position at SCCC, Thompson’s dream of being a band director has finally come true.
The landscape of the state of Michigan and that of Kansas contrast greatly, and while it was a big change, Thompson said she now calls Southwest Kansas home and loves being in the area.
In addition to her middle school band director, Thompson said her love of music is connected to her love of playing and performing.
“I love what music is able to do for everybody,” she said. “I really feel it is a universal language. I feel through music, through artists, through movie scores, through any type of music, I can really connect with people, and we can find a common ground. It’s something I absolutely fell in love with and felt it was my place of belonging. I was not a sports kid at all. Music was my home.”
In her time at USD 480, Thompson received several accolades, including two District Teacher of the Month awards, Elementary Teacher of the Year, an award from the local Masonic Lodge and a VFW teacher award.
As far as what drives her as a teacher, Thompson said her students definitely play the biggest factor.
“My love and passion for music keeps me going, but it’s my students,” she said. “It’s always been the students. I want to give them the best music education I can and use all the resources I have to give them the best experience they can get. It’s the students and building positive connections and relationships with them so they can build their love of music as well.”
At McDermott, Thompson taught music to grades kindergarten through third, and while performances were limited to a Christmas concert, she loved that experience.
“It was schoolwide,” she said. “It was awesome to have the entire school at the high school to perform, but I really wanted to build better connections with parents as well.”
When McDermott closed and Thompson transitioned to Prairie View, a school that is home to grades kindergarten through fifth, each grade level would now have its own concert with a different theme for each grade.
“Fourth grade was always Veterans Day,” she said. “First grade was always Christmas. The other ones, we played around with, but it was so much fun to see the kids light up and enjoy what they’re doing and not only sing, but play instruments.”
Thompson’s older students moved on to do musicals, and she would eventually lead an honor choir with her fifth graders at Prairie View.
“We had a select number of students from each elementary in USD 480, and we met once a week to prepare them for our USD 480 District Choir Festival,” she said. “I was able to help get that going in 2018. That was really positive for my older students as well. I’m definitely going to miss my little kids.”
Thompson likewise has been an adjunct instructor at SCCC for three years, and having a love for working with older students, she felt she was ready for a change.
“I taught the elementary general music course for future teachers, and I love teaching future educators and being able to converse with adults and help them kickstart the direction they were going with where they were going to go teaching wise,” she said. “Because of that, it really motivated me to apply for this position, and I really miss band. I love the community at Seward, even with being an adjunct instructor. I felt it was going to be a really good fit. I’m very excited for this new position.”
With her experience as an adjunct instructor and help from her former band director, Thompson said she is quite prepared for her new role at SCCC.
“There are some things I’m nervous about, as anyone is with a new job, but I think that adjunct experience really is going to help make this transition for me pretty smooth,” she said.
Thompson said some students have already enrolled for the fall semester, and she said some of the students come from her time as an elementary teacher.
“That’s going to be really cool to come full circle and see them through their whole musical career,” she said.
Thompson said she is hoping that by having some of her former students will help recruit more students.
“I’ve kept in touch with a lot of them, and I hope if they do choose to come here, they enroll in band or pep band so I can have them and teach them again,” she said.
Thompson said she envisions a pep band that can ramp up excitement at Saints sporting events and partner with local and area bands, and she said there is nothing quite like the experience of playing in that environment.
“I was a huge pep band kid,” she said. “That sense of community is amazing, the connection to the athletes and the crowd. Students and the people in town add an extra layer of excitement to the music itself.”
Thompson is recruiting now for the Saints Pep Band. A limited number of book scholarships, which cover the cost of textbooks for all classes, are available.
Students can set up a meeting by e-mailing
Going from elementary teaching to higher education may seem more than a bit of a transition, and Thompson said the level of education and thinking is definitely higher at the college level.
“They want to be here,” she said. “They’re motivated to finish their degree and get their career started. They want help, and I love that energy from the adults.”
Thompson said she will always appreciate the younger students she taught at McDermott and Prairie View.
“They’ve always been really comfortable in my classroom and willing to try new things, and if something goes wrong, it’s okay,” she said. “We learn from our mistakes, and we keep going. I’ve seen a lot of that with my adult students as well. While there is a big age gap, I do see a lot of similarities surprisingly.”
Being new to her position, Thompson said for now, she wants to get to know her students and get her face out to the community more. All this is in an effort to bring area high school students to SCCC and continue in music, whether it is as a music major or simply as a band member.
“My goal is to get anybody who wants to play to come and play, whether it be in concert band or in pep band,” she said. “Come on out, have a great time and continue playing. I want to keep that community strong here.”
Though the SCCC campus is relatively quiet over the summer months, Thompson has settled into her office, checked out the instrument inventory and teaching space and is definitely ready for the new semester to start.
“I’m ecstatic to begin this next chapter,” she said. “I’m very eager to begin working here. I’ve already met some of my coworkers, and I’m extremely excited to be a part of Seward County, meeting the students and getting to know them better and also seeing some of my old students. That’s going to be great.”
