By Ferrell Miller, JC Breakfast Optimist Club Secretary/Programs Chairperson
Nathan Downs has served as the Director of Special Education in USD 475 Geary County Schools for the past five years. He is originally from Joplin, Missouri. He has had positions as a Mental Health Crisis Case Manager for adults and children; a school psychologist in Wamego; worked in special education at Junction City High School and is currently the Director of Special Education.
“Special education services in USD 475 are provided for students age 0 through 21 years. One of the services most recently expanded is for three and four years old children. The Board of Education approved an Early Childhood Center to be built to serve more children in that age group who will be taught by a licensed teacher. This is not a day care”, he said. “The purpose of the program is to prepare the children for kindergarten and identify any special needs at an early age to get them help with academics and behavior skills.
Individual Education Plans (IEP’s) are built by the staff and parents to collaboratively create goals and strategies for instruction in the classroom, monitor progress and be flexible enough to make changes when needed. Last year there were 1800 students ages 3 through 21 with IEP’s in USD 475. There are 150 licensed staff and 300 paraprofessionals who work directly with students in classrooms. For the last 5 years, the district has met all federal and state standards when audited.”
Nathan stated that his biggest challenge is “recruiting and retaining staff. Fifty-five percent of our students are connected to the military stationed at Fort Riley. We hire spouses of soldiers, but often after 2 or 3 years there is turnover. We will likely hire 60 people to work in the Special Education Department this year.”
He also stated that “the district has a “Grow Our Own” program to encourage paraprofessionals to enroll in and complete a bachelor’s degree program, work with a licensed teacher of record, become licensed themselves and seek employment in USD 475. There have been at least a dozen people involved in this program last year. We are also working with the Geary Community Schools Foundation to provide more scholarships for staff in a similar way.”
Next year, Nathan will be an Assistant Superintendent in USD 383 Manhattan/Ogden School District. He plans to continue focusing on doing what is best for students and staff.
Next week’s meeting will be a Board of Directors meeting. All JC Breakfast Optimist members are encouraged to attend. Meetings are open to the public. Those who attend their first meeting of the club at the Hampton Inn will receive a free breakfast buffet. Breakfast is served at 6:30 AM and the meetings begin at 6:50 AM.