Keri Buscher: Opening Doors, Meeting Kids Where They Are, and Creating Opportunities Artwork

Vandalia ONE

The Vandalia ONE Podcast is a conversation with and about the Vandalia CUSD 203 school community. Each month we sit down with game-changers within this community and we talk about the differences they’re making, are a part of, or are witnessing. We talk with teachers, students, administrators, parents, community volunteers, alumni, coaches, and others who are committed to making the absolute most of educating the kids who attend our schools. The Vandalia ONE initiative is a joint school and community idea that emphasizes both personal and community-wide Ownership of the way forward, the Naming of that way forward, and the Embrace, or commitment, to that path or those pathways. These three important words drive Vandalia ONE, and the Steering Committee, made up of partners from the community and from the school, will meet regularly to discuss and refine our work to stay on task in our mutual commitments. If you’d like to become more directly involved in the work we’re doing, just reach out to Dr. Jennifer Garrison’s office at 618-283-4525. You are also invited to submit your ideas for how we can improve our podcast and make suggestions for guests you think we should have on. Reach out to us at the school or through our producer, Journey12 at info@journey12.com. We are all committed to being responsive to the needs of our community and, if you’re listening, that’s you! We’re glad to have you with us!

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Vandalia ONE

Keri Buscher: Opening Doors, Meeting Kids Where They Are, and Creating Opportunities

February 18, 2023 • Journey12 • Season 1

Today, I get to sit down with Keri Buscher, a Special Education Teacher who’s been with the District for 6-years. Keri has coaching in her blood and a real heart for kids, and what she brings to them through her work is nothing short of life-changing. The teachers here in Vandalia, far more often than not, are either from the community or have a deep connection to it. And even those who commute in from one of several nearby burgs, or worked previously in another District, I’ve found, are fiercely aligned with the best interests of the kids they serve here in Vandalia. Keri, though she is exceptional, is no exception to that observation. I love that coaching is such an elemental piece of who she is, as an educator, because I think it has somehow fostered neural pathways in her that enable uniquely effective access to kids, and an uncanny ability to bring about their best outcomes. Vandalia is fortunate to have educators like Keri, and the students she serves are lucky to have her on their team.