Brad Thompson, Roosevelt history teacher, has been living in D.C. for about two years now. He is originally from New York and came to D.C. to explore new things.

When asked “What made you want to work at Roosevelt,” his bright smile lit up the room. “I saw the feel and different facilities, so Um, felt like I would be blown away by this experience,” he said. “I love working with young kids.”

He said his father is his biggest influence, and inspires him to keep going. In fact, he got into teaching with the help of his father. Aside from working with kids, he also loves to cook. “Cooking comforts me,” Thompson said.

Loyal, hard-headed and reflective is how he describes himself, and his weakness is adjusting to new things. “It is hard for me to adjust to certain changes because it can be very confusing since I’m not used to that certain change,” he said.

He devotes all his time to teaching and learning new things, and ever since Roosevelt re-opened for in-person learning he has been on top of his students, making sure they are doing what they need to be doing to succeed.

“As far as the students, they are good. I have never had a complaint about any of my students,” he said. “I’m willing to work extra hard for my students, especially since we are adjusting to in-person learning after having been virtual.”

His co-worker Dean Munier Howard confirms this. “He is very committed to doing what he does best, teaching,” said Howard who doesn’t have a particularly close relationship with Thompson, but said he is “a great team player.”

Typical work days for Thompson are busy and productive, proving his dedication to the craft of teaching. “I get to school at 7:30, print, count papers, plan and grade. I teach from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and sometimes I go to meetings until around 3:30. I have class from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Then from there I plan more lessons for the next day.”