TRAILBLAZER: Sam Thompson leads with edutainment and innovation

Fifth-grade teacher Sam Thompson brings humor and creativity into the classroom, embodying his “edutainment” approach to learning. Photo: Sam Thompson

PARK CITY, Utah — For 28 years, Sam Thompson has walked into a classroom in the Park City School District with the same intention: to keep kids excited about learning.

“When I first started, I thought kids were these vessels that I was just going to pour knowledge into,” Thompson said. “Over time, I’ve come to learn that you’re more of a guide on their journey of learning. My job is to keep them excited so when they move on to middle and high school, they still have that hunger for it.”

Thompson teaches fifth grade at McPolin Elementary. He first came to Park City in 1998 after tutoring peers in high school helped him discover he had a knack for explaining things in ways that clicked. “I’ve always enjoyed working with kids,” he said. “My wife jokes I’m perpetually 12. I’ve never really grown up.”

That sense of play carries into his classroom philosophy, which blends rigor with what he calls “edutainment.” He explained: “I like to mix in games and fun, because if I’m having fun, they’re usually having fun and learning. If I’m not having fun, nobody’s happy.”

The approach has paid off. Thompson recalls hearing from a former student who went on to study engineering at the University of Utah, later working at Skullcandy. “He thanked me for keeping him excited about math,” Thompson said. “That’s what fills my tank—seeing former students grow up, find success, and remember something from our time together in class.”

Beyond his classroom, Thompson is the founder of the RC Race and Engineering League, an after-school program where students build and race radio-controlled cars. What started years ago at Treasure Mountain Junior High has grown into a program at all four elementary schools, supported by the Park City Education Foundation.

“The kids build the cars from scratch and then race them at the end of the year,” Thompson said. “It’s teamwork, problem-solving, and engineering all rolled into one. They don’t even realize how much they’re learning at the time, but those experiences are invaluable.”

The challenges facing students today, he said, go well beyond academics. “With smartphones and social media, we deal with a lot more social-emotional issues than when I started teaching. Kids feel pressure from this sort of fake world,” Thompson said. “My role is to help them push through, to not give up on themselves. I tell them, ‘Don’t give up on me, and I won’t give up on you.’”

Looking ahead, Thompson sees promise in the district’s shift toward project-based competency learning, where students move at their own pace and demonstrate understanding in more individualized ways. “That’s where the future of education is going,” he said. “It meets kids where they are, instead of teaching the same thing to everyone at the same time.”

Outside the classroom, Thompson embodies the Park City lifestyle. “I’m a big mountain biker, climber, and skier,” he said. “We’re from the Midwest originally, but we wanted to live in a mountain town. I pinch myself that I get to live here every day.”

After nearly three decades in the district, Thompson says he feels grateful above all else. “I’m one of those people who loves to go to work,” he said. “Not everybody is afforded that option in life. I’m just thankful for the families and students I’ve worked with over the years, and excited to see what they bring to the world in the future.”