Sunday September 9, 2007Buis named new principal at Kentucky School for the Deaf

By TODD KLEFFMAN
tkleffman@amnews.com

A Casey County native and Lincoln County educator has been named the new principal at Kentucky School for the Deaf.



Rodney Buis will serve as interim principal for the remainder of the school year. He replaces Jackie Day, who is moving to KSD's outreach program after 2-1/2 years as principal.



"Everything I've ever heard about KSD is that it's a good place for kids, that kids love being here," Buis said. "I want to be a part of that."



Buis, 48, has a master's degree in math education and Rank 1 certification in education leadership. He served as a teacher in Casey and Garrard counties for 11 years before moving to Lincoln Middle School, where he was assistant principal and principal for eight years.



For the past two years, Buis has worked as a highly skilled educator for Covington Independent Schools in northern Kentucky. He lived in a motel there while maintaining his home in Stanford on weekends.



"Two years away from home is long enough," he said.



As principal at KSD, Buis will supervise teachers, academics and dorm life for the school's 140 K-12 students, about 80 of whom live on campus throughout the week.



"One of the areas that is outside my box is dorm life. I've got to get my arms around that," he said.



To begin sign language classes



Buis also plans to begin taking classes in sign language on Monday. His wife, Kathy, is hearing impaired but doesn't sign regularly. They've taken signing classes together over the years, but never became fluent.



"I know the alphabet and a few basic signs; I'm probably just above the kindergarten level," he said. "I've asked the kids to help me, and they do."



Buis said he is interested in applying for the job on a permanent basis, but a lot will depend on if he can master sign language during his first year on the job.



"I've got an interpreter assigned to me at all times, but I want to get rid of her. Nothing against her, but I want to do it on my own," he said. "I want to learn the language. If I can't get real good at learning the language, they need to get somebody in here who does, in my opinion."



Kathy Buis, a nurse a Fort Logan Hospital, grew up hearing impaired and lost total hearing in both ears in 1990, Buis explained. She had a cochlear ear implant installed in 2005 and is still learning how to hear with it, just like many KSD students, Buis said.



"I may not be that familiar with deaf culture, but do I have a lot of empathy because of my wife? Yes," he said. "It gives me some background, but every situation is different and I've got a ton to learn. I'm really looking forward to the challenge."Copyright:The Advocate-Messenger 2007