Thompson Elementary is a 60,000 SF school serving 550 students. The facility is designed to emphasize openness and day lighting with higher ceilings and indirect lighting in classrooms. Highly efficient casework storage is used to maximize classroom floor and wall surface areas. The hallways are wider to accommodate reading niches and other small teaching spaces. The Library’s location allows it to be showcased; emphasizing learning and opening it for shared community use.

Thompson Elementary School was selected to be one of the pilot schools for the Washington Sustainable Schools Program. The design incorporated many sustainable features including a ground source heat pump system, light harvesting using light shelves, lighting controls, retainage of natural vegetation and sustainable produced materials and products.

The Elementary School is the first of two replacement schools on the site. Spanaway Junior High School, completed Fall 2007, is the second school. Careful master planning, with close attention to phasing, allowed the existing schools to remain fully functional as the new facilities were built.