Taming Lions at Alaska's Largest K-6 School Junior Achievement Educator of the Year: Linson Thompson.

• Author: Rhode, Scott
• Position: Sand Lake Elementary School

On a frosty morning, Linson Thompson greets Sand Lake Elementary students before they set foot inside. "Ohayo-gozaimasu," the principal says to students arriving for Japanese immersion classes; he says "Good morning" to those attending Sand Lake as their neighborhood school.

By the time doors open at 8:50, Thompson has been at work for more than an hour. As the first person in the building most days, according to the school secretary, he's already met with the student support team to address concerns about the progress of two children.

When the 9 o'clock bell rings, formally starting the school day, Thompson takes off his high-visibility vest and black fleece and hangs them on hooks in his office, next to a parka, a rain slicker, and a suit jacket with a necktie. "The great thing about my job," he says, "is that at some point in time I get to do everyone's job. I could be leading a grade level curriculum meeting in the morning and unplugging toilets in the afternoon." Whatever needs doing, the principal makes sure it's done.

During the first hour of classes, Thompson makes the rounds of each room, checking on his Lions (the school mascot) and letting their teachers know he's there for them.

At the cafeteria, he checks with Mr. T (as the kids call the kitchen manager) about a potential "uproar": no more chocolate milk. Mr. T, who works as a restaurant chef after school hours, assures Thompson that a fresh supply might arrive the next day.

The World of Work

With a current enrollment of 530, Sand Lake Elementary has the largest K-6 student body in Alaska. (Ipalook Elementary, the only primary school in Utqiagvik, has more students but is K-5.) Sand Lake's neighborhood boundary is narrowly drawn to make room for Japanese immersion students from all over Anchorage.

Immersed himself, Thompson picked up enough of the language to get by, he says, though he had a head start. His first job out of college in 1984 was working for Mitsubishi Semiconductor Company in his native North Carolina. He was taught business Japanese while he programmed AGVs, automatic guided vehicles, to roam the floor of the microchip factory.

He recalls, "If you were an employee there, and you saw my department coming to your section, it was just a matter of time, unfortunately, that you either had to find somewhere else in the factory to work, or your days were numbered... Typically, you did not get laid off when we were done because the company grew so much."

That is, until...