ABOUT Mr. T.
A native of Syracuse, NY, Bryan received his graduate certificate in teaching from Lemoyne College (Syracuse, NY) in 1997 and just recently completed his athletic director certificate through the University of Southern Maine and the NIAAA. He received his masters degree and C.A.G.S. in 1993 and his bachelor of arts in 1992, all from the University at Albany. After two years teaching technology education in Kittery, Bryan joined the York High School staff in 1999 as the technology coordinator responsible for facilitating and managing the high school technology infrastructure, including staff development, technology support, & integration, departmental curriculum development, building-wide infrastructure planning, budgeting/purchasing, network administration and software support.
Bryan's role at YHS evolved in 2007 to focus on dedicated technology integration as the district moved towards a more comprehensive technology support model and served as the teacher leader for the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) and 1:1 iPad projects at YHS. He has also served on a variety of committees within the district: YHS technology co-chair, district technology team, YHS iPad policy sub-committee, and the district 21st Century committee. He has also been a volunteer mentor in the York Schools' S.H.I.P.S. program.
In 2007, Bryan won the Tele Atlas/ESRI Educator Award for the integration of GIS technology in the classroom. He also won a SUNY-Albany presidential research award in 1991 for integrating GIS and remote sensing technologies in secondary social studies classrooms. In March 2009, Bryan won a national Best Buy Teacher Award worth $5,000 toward support of ongoing technology integration projects. The Maine Office of Preservation also awarded his classroom a grant for boatbuilding technology in 1998. Most recently, Bryan was awarded a collaborative York Education Foundation (YEF) grant worth $4,000 for the purchase and support of Apple TV technology in the classroom.
In 2013, Bryan re-entered the social studies classroom at York High School, leveraging his background in government, defense, technology, and geography. His mission is to inspire Economics and Global Studies students, and prepare them for an active part in the global economy.
Prior to joining the YHS staff, Bryan worked as an engineer for the City of Rome, NY, for the US Army Corps of Engineers in Hanover, NH and CACI MTL Systems, a defense contractor based at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, OH and at the Air Force Superlab in Rome, NY. He received a commendation from the U.S. Under Secretary of Defense in 1996 for his work involving real-time warfare video processing design during the Bosnian War.
Bryan co-coaches the varsity wrestling team at York High School, where he currently holds a 334-98 dual meet record over 23 seasons and is a Silver Certified Coach by USA Wrestling, the first within the State of Maine. Additionally, he has served as the USA Wrestling Coaches Liaison to the State of Maine, the Southern Regional Director for the Maine Games, and currently serves as an at-large member of the USA Wrestling National Audit Committee. Bryan founded the York youth wrestling program in 2001. In 2011, he launched the Hammerhead Wrestling Club for youth through senior-level wrestlers in Maine and New England. He was selected in September 2012 as an assistant CAP coach to the US Jr. National Team competing at the FILA Jr. World Wrestling Championships in Pattaya, Thailand. (USA Wrestling Interview, Blog & Photos). Bryan also traveled in June 2008 to Nebraska as coach of the XXIV Maine-Nebraska Exchange Team, and has twice hosted Team Nebraska in York (2007, 2009). He also traveled to Las Vegas to cover the 2008 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials for the Maine Amateur Wrestling Alliance. (Blog & PhotoGallery). As an athlete and member of the prestigious Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club, Bryan was a Section III New York State freestyle champion and multiple Empire State Games qualifier, in both Olympic styles (freestyle and greco-roman). He was a 4-year varsity starter at Cicero-North Syracuse High School (Cicero, NY) and then wrestled at the University at Albany before becoming a member of the UAlbany's rugby team, which won the 1991 New York State Upstate DI Collegiate title.
Bryan's passions outside the classroom and wrestling room include his family (Mary Jo -also a teacher in York - and son, Ronan), traveling, stand-up paddleboarding, surfing, reading, hiking, and building hardwood furniture and wooden surfboards. Feel free to contact Bryan anytime at bthompson@yorkschools.org. You may also view his Linkedin profile HERE or resume HERE.