Special education teacher Jordan Abbott values the bond between staff and students. Abbott, a former college coach, works with former football players and coaches as fellow staff members.
Augusta and Wichita Heights High School offered a job to Abbott. The environment and coaching staff, including head coach Dawson Elliott, influenced his decision.
“Elliott was a former player of mine at Butler Community College, so he reached out to me and asked me to come here and help out,” Abbott said.
Abbott attended multiple colleges playing football and working toward a masters degree.
“The first college I went to was a school in Florida called Weber International University; I wanted to play football,” Abbott said. “After about two seasons, I ended up getting eight concussions, so I had to stop playing.”
Abbott continued his education including a master’s degree then became an assistant football coach at Butler Community College.
“I transferred to Tallahassee and went to Florida State University and then I went and got my masters at Valdosta University in South Georgia,” Abbott said. “From there I graduated, and I came out to Kansas, and I was a college football coach for quite a little bit of time.”
Abbott’s academic goals include helping students understand new material and making them contributing members of society. Athletically, he wants to turn around a program that has struggled to find its full potential.
“We have a lot of talented kids,” Abbott said. “We’re having to go back and do some things with them because they were missed for several years. People weren’t pushing them to the point they needed to be.”
The relationship between the staff encourages Abbott to continue his teaching career.
“We have great staff; we have a great connection, and we’re hoping that rubs off on the kids,” Abbott said. “The bond that we have helps them develop the bonds together to get through this season.”
Read more about other new staff members here
