Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 recently hired Nathan Downs as the next assistant superintendent of the school district. Downs replaces Dr. Eric Reid, who took the superintendent job late last year. 

Downs’ background in public education is far reaching. He spent eight years as a school psychologist in USD 383 and another five years as the Executive Director of Special Education in USD 475 (Geary County). 

“I really enjoyed my initial time in USD 383 and only left due to an opportunity for career advancement,” Downs said. “There are many friends and colleagues that I will miss in USD 475, but ultimately, I wanted to come back to where I knew I could make the biggest difference for our staff, students and families … I know that Manhattan-Ogden has a great leadership team and has immense potential and I want to be a part of that culture.”

Downs hopes to tap into this potential and make USD 383 a top-tier school-district in the state and nation by fostering positive relationships between staff, students, families and community. More specifically, he wants to ensure teachers and USD 383 families are given the right resources to meet their students’ needs. 

“I’m hoping that we can find ways to create quality of life improvements so that our educators don’t need to worry about anything at work other than how to meet our student’s needs,” Downs said. “I want our students and families to feel safe at school and be excited for learning, and for our community to continue to partner with us to provide additional resources to meet our goals as a district.”

Downs will officially begin in his new role on July 1, 2023.