The Hot Springs School Board on Tuesday named Deborah Clevenger the district's new director of Special Education.
"We are so pleased to have Mrs. Clevenger transition into our director of Special Education position. Mrs. Wiles has done an outstanding job, and we have every bit of confidence that Mrs. Clevenger can continue her tenure in ensuring that our Special Education programs operate at the very highest level of effectiveness and excellence," Superintendent Stephanie Nehus said.
She said that Clevenger has experience within the district as a Special Education designee. She has worked within the Hot Springs community to ensure that these same services are available to individuals with needs throughout their lives.
"She will do a wonderful job of blending her experiences to strengthen our comprehensive approach in providing a renowned Special Education Department," Nehus said.
"I am very happy that they selected me for this position. I want to be a difference-maker. This will enable me to be more of a difference-maker in the district," Clevenger said.
She said she is excited about the new position that she has been given. She is also enthusiastic about the new challenges and the new journey that she will be faced with being the new director.
"I am extremely happy and sad at the same time. ... It is going to be tough not just on me, but to all (her) students. I hope (she has) a lot of fun and to try (her) best," freshman Brady Robertson said.
Clevenger has been with the district since 2007 and said she has loved every minute of it. She was a special education teacher at the intermediate school, middle school, Park Magnet and now the high school.
"Special (Education) has just been a calling for me. It's my passion," Clevenger said.
Clevenger attended Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, where she got her Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations and minored in Business and Sociology in 1982. In 2003, she got her master's degree in Special Education Instructional Specialist. Clevenger received her Specialist in Education Leadership with a major in Special Education Administration degree in 2006, she said.
"The specialist degree is in between a master and a doctorate," she said.
Clevenger said she was a Special Education designee for the district from July 2009 until March 2016.
"I enjoyed that job," she said.
Clevenger said she feels she was selected to become the new director because of her experience in Special Education with the district.
She said that she got into Special Education while she was a substitute teacher at her children's high school and was subbing in Special Education classes.
"When I was subbing at the school, I really enjoy the Special Education classes and the resource classes. They started asking me to sub in those classes, and that is what made me decide to go back and get my master's degree and my specialist degree," Clevenger said.
She said that she wants parents and students to know that her vision is to ensure that all students with disabilities have the opportunity to meet and maximize their potential and thrive in a supportive and engaging learning environment.
"My family has a 100-year history with Jones School. My grandmother, my great aunts and my father all went to Jones school. My dad used to ring the bell when he was a little boy," Clevenger said.
Clevenger will be taking on her new position during the summer.
Local on 01/25/2020