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J. Lynn Jones, Nebo School District’s Special Education and Federal Program Director, is the recipient of the Stevan J. Kukic Special Education Administrator of the Year by the Utah Chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children.
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The Utah Chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children is a professional organization focused on advancing the welfare and education of children and youth with exceptionalities through professional development, political advocacy, and collaboration. Each year we recognize outstanding professionals and businesses who make significant contributions to the field.
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J. Lynn Jones has been a teacher, principal, and administrator in the Nebo School District for over 37 years. During his time in Nebo, he has dedicated himself to enhancing the lives of children and individuals with exceptionalities through education, awareness, advocacy, and effective communication.
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When J. Lynn was first appointed as the director of Special Education and Federal Programs over 10 years ago, he was given the charge to balance a budget within the department where the expenses were consistently exceeding the appropriated funds. J. Lynn set out with this daunting task by establishing the clear expectation that children’s educational needs were the priority. He and his administrative staff had to make many challenging decisions regarding program structures, staffing, and resources throughout the entire district to keep the budget in check. They did this within a remarkably short period of time while maintaining a high standard of services for children and respecting teachers and paraeducators.
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During J. Lynn’s time as the Director of Special Education and Federal Programs, Nebo has launched several programs to benefit children and youth with disabilities such as our annual Super Stars Track Meet, Special Education Extravaganza, and Transition Fair. Each of these events has been highlighted by local media as positive and rewarding experiences for all youth who are involved.
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As a certified Vital Smarts trainer, J. Lynn believes in the power of effective communication and trains in Crucial Conversations, Crucial Accountability, Change Anything, and Influencer. Hundreds of Nebo School District employees have benefitted from this training. In addition, J. Lynn has been hosted by many school districts throughout the State to share these effective tools for communication and understanding.
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J. Lynn is also a well-respected colleague of other directors and special education administrators throughout the state and actively participates on various administrative councils such as the Dirty Dozen and Nebo-Alpine-Provo (NAP) coalition.
