Weston Schools custodian Dave Thompson
Prior to being honored with a Great Schools Hero Award at the WEAC Convention General Session, Weston Schools custodian Dave Thompson waits backstage with his wife Valerie, a Weston Schools kindergarten teacher, and their children Trevor, 13, and Brittany, 15.
Dave Thompson, the Weston Schools custodian who wrestled a shotgun away from a student and likely saved the lives of many others, was honored Thursday (October 26, 2006) at the WEAC Convention as a Great Schools Hero.
First Lady Jessica Doyle and Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton join WEAC President Stan Johnson (not pictured) in presenting the Great Schools Hero Award to Dave Thompson. |
"The last sound we should ever hear in the hallways of a school is the sound of gunfire, but the unthinkable happened on September 29 in Weston," an emotional WEAC President Stan Johnson said in presenting the award. "When Dave saw a student enter the school with a shotgun, his first instinct was to put himself between the gun and the hundreds of students and staff who work and learn throughout the building.
"Dave succeeded in wrestling the gun away from the student. We will never know how many lives Dave saved by putting everyone else’s life before his. One person, Weston Schools Principal John Klang, did lose his life that day. John Klang is also an uncommon hero."
Thompson, who has been the chief negotiator for the Weston Educational Support Staff local since it was first organized and affiliated with WEAC, said he did not feel he was a hero and was accepting the award to honor slain principal John Klang.
Johnson said both men were heroes.
"When I present the Great Schools Hero Award I am always careful to say that what WEAC members do every day in great schools and classrooms throughout Wisconsin is heroic. And it is," Johnson said.
"We make miracles happen every day. We teach kids to read, help them understand their world and their place in it. We get them safely to and from school. We feed their bodies and their minds. That is heroic.
"But the Great Schools Hero Award is for “uncommon” heroism. Dave Thompson is an uncommon hero."
Earlier, Governor Doyle took time during his address to also honor Thompson, who he said "heroically stepped forward to disarm a student and put his life on the line."
"This is the quality of people we have going into our schools every single day as teachers and as support staff and administrators," Doyle said. "And if anybody ever questions the quality, look at what happened in Weston.
"Dave Thompson was a hero. John Klang gave his life to saving the lives of many children in that school. This is who we are. This is the very best of who we are. I send my incredible congratulations and thanks and recognition to Dave Thompson, and I know I speak on behalf of everyone in this state to say our thoughts and prayers are with the Klang family for the incredibly heroic and inspirational act that he performed," the governor said. "We thank them, and we know that they represent the kind of quality and values that we have in our public schools throughout the state."
State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster also praised the actions of Thompson, Klang and others in Weston Schools.
"With the tragic events of this fall fresh in our minds and in our hearts, we must remember the courage and the sacrifice of John Klang and others in Weston Schools," she said. "We recognize the heroic efforts of custodian Dave Thompson who acted decisively in first responding, of teacher Charles Keller ensuring that 911 was called and that the school's emergency lockdown procedure was activated. And in the immediate aftermath, District Administrator Terry Milfred, Dean of Students Melissa Nigh and all the Weston staff, including Dave's wife Valerie Thompson, drew the community together with compassion. And there were so many others who acted courageously that day who deserve our thanks and our praise."
Following the award presentation, television
reporters interview the Thompson family.
More Convention coverage:
Jonathan Kozol says we are in 'a battle for the soul of education'
Wisconsin public schools 'are at a crossroads,' Burmaster says
Governor Doyle says the state's future depends on decisions made about education today (Members Only site)
More Convention coverage will be posted over the next several days
Posted October 27, 2006