Barbara Thompson (October 15, 1924 – September 23, 2010) was an educator and the Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin from 1973 to 1981. Born in

McFarland, Wisconsin The Village of McFarland is located on Lake Waubesa adjacent to the southeast side of the Madison, Wisconsin, City of Madison in Dane County, Wisconsin, Dane County. The population was 8,991 at the 2020 United States Census. McFarland has appr ...

and raised on a dairy and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

farm, the former Barbara Ruth Storck graduated from the

University of Wisconsin–Platteville University of Wisconsin–Platteville (UW–Platteville or UW Platt) is a public university in Platteville, Wisconsin. Part of the University of Wisconsin System, it offers bachelor's and master's degrees. The university has three colleges tha ...

in 1956 and received her master's degree and doctorate from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison ...

. Initially, Thompson started to teach in a

one-room schoolhouse One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...

and was a school administrator. She campaigned for the State Superintendent office, while recovering from a broken arm in 1973, and was the first woman to be elected to the office. During her administration, the teachers in

Hortonville, Wisconsin Hortonville is a village in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,711 at the 2010 census. Hortonville is located in the Fox Cities region and the Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, WI CSA, the third largest metropolitan area ...

went on strike. Thompson also required teachers in Wisconsin to go through continuing education and to have their teachers licenses renewed once every five years. She died in Bradenton, Florida.Obituary
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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Barbara American school administrators Educators from Wisconsin American women educators People from McFarland, Wisconsin People from Bradenton, Florida University of Wisconsin–Platteville alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni 1924 births 2010 deaths Superintendents of Public Instruction of Wisconsin Women in Wisconsin politics 21st-century American women