Laenne Thompson

Laenne Thompson worked as a staff at the High Scope Institute for IDEAS in 1991 and later co-directed the program for multiple sessions 1998-1999, oversaw the program in 2004, and directed a new multi-month version called IDEAS to Impact in 2005-06.  Drawing on her many years of experience of working at the multi-week summer residential program for teens, she helped develop and refine many of what are now known as the “Methods” workshops and developed and co-facilitated the Methods Training-of-Trainers pilot in 1999-2000 while working for High Scope’s Adolescent Division.  Simultaneously Laenne led Methods workshops for adults and youth leadership retreats for community-based youth program staff and youth in Michigan.  In 2004 she joined the Youth Development Group at High Scope and coordinated data collection for the validation study of the Youth Program Quality Assessment (Youth PQA) and developed the organizational interview for Form B before assisting with the final editing and publication of the instrument.  Laenne collaborated to create and facilitate the Youth PQA Basics training and delivered the training to hundreds of 21st Century Community Learning Center after school staff in Michigan in 2006.  She also traveled to present the Youth PQA at national and regional conferences, such as the Indiana Youth Institute Kids Count, After School Alliance, and National Afterschool Association conferences.  In 2008 she began contract work for the Center of Youth Program Quality and travels from her home in Alaska to deliver Methods and Youth PQA workshops.  Laenne’s regular full-time work is as a Communications and Development Director for an environmental conservation non-profit organization in Fairbanks.