Family reflects on son's "incredible year'

New Bloomfield student with Down syndrome graduates

Chris Kampeter poses for a photo in the hallway at New Bloomfield High School on his last day Wednesday. Chris, a student with Down syndrome, graduated Friday. Chris bounced around from school to school for several years, his family attempting to find the right fit. New Bloomfield, his mother said, always made Chris feel included and happy. His parents agreed that they wish they would have enrolled Chris in New Bloomfield High School sooner so he could have spent longer than just a year there.
Chris Kampeter poses for a photo in the hallway at New Bloomfield High School on his last day Wednesday. Chris, a student with Down syndrome, graduated Friday. Chris bounced around from school to school for several years, his family attempting to find the right fit. New Bloomfield, his mother said, always made Chris feel included and happy. His parents agreed that they wish they would have enrolled Chris in New Bloomfield High School sooner so he could have spent longer than just a year there.

Callaway County offers resources for people with developmental disabilities

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As Chris Kampeter walked down the hallway at New Bloomfield High School on his last day of school almost every student acknowledged him with a waive, smile or a "hello."

Chris, 20, has Down syndrome. Although he only attended New Bloomfield High School for one year before graduating this past Friday, his teachers, family and fellow students agree that he has been an inspiration for many. And for Chris, his time at the school has been filled with happy memories - which is all his mother, Cindy Kampeter, has ever wished for her son.

Cindy Kampeter said she and her husband are grateful for all of the students who took time to get to know their son.

"It's amazing. We just feel so fortunate that he's in this class ... this was the perfect time," Cindy Kampeter said. "We just feel we were meant to move here and this is why. We prayed - just let us find a place where he will be safe and loved and learn and further himself and our prayers were answered."

Before her son graduated Friday, Cindy Kampeter wanted to thank everyone who contributed to her son's happiness this past year. She read a thank-you letter at the high school's senior awards and scholarship night Thursday.

"To be accepted, isn't that what all people want ... what all parents want and dream of for their child?" Cindy Kampeter said, with tears in her eyes, to seniors and their parents. "You have not only showed Chris that he is valued and important. You have taught your students the very important lesson of acceptance; acceptance of different people and that if you open your mind and heart, you could be rewarded in a way you never knew possible."

After she was finished reading her thank you letter Thursday, senior students and their parents as well as teachers and administrators that filled the high school cafeteria stood. As everyone clapped for the Kampeter family, one person in the crowd shouted, "We love you, Chris!"

"Always a friend'

Chris' mom describes him as "always a friend." She said Chris can teach others important lessons.

"If you open your heart to somebody, he can teach you so much about compassion and love ... he loves unconditionally. He forgives and forgets it. He's always happy to see you," Cindy Kampeter said of her son.

When his teacher Malinda Cline asks Chris who his buddy is, Chris clasps his hands together tightly, slightly rests his head on his hands and with a big smile says "Rose."

Rose Jackson, who was also a senior and graduated Friday, said her friendship has a positive influence on Chris, and knowing Chris has had a significant impact on her life, as well.

"I used to make a lot of bad decisions. I was addicted to drugs ... and meeting him, it helped me be the person I am, and that was just in a year's time. He helped me. He was a big part of that," Jackson said. "Just making me feel good about myself and giving me some sort of light in my life."

Jackson said she made the choice to stop doing drugs last summer, just before the school year started. She credits Chris with giving her a great deal of the strength she needed to stay clean.

"Meeting him kept motivating me to stay off of it (drugs)," Jackson said. "I finally was off of it for (many) months and could say I'm done with it."

Jackson met Chris early on in the school year. She was part of the A + Scholarship Program in the high school, which had a mentorship component, and asked to work with Cline's classroom. Rose described Chris as one of her best friends. She and Chris ate lunch together most days. She said seeing Chris always brightened her day.

"Even just seeing him in the hallways ... literally, he runs after me and just the excitement (he has) and our friendship - I could go on and on about how many moments there were this year," Jackson said.

Jackson said her time helping and mentoring in Cline's classroom made her feel good about herself. And, she added, after the experience and knowing Chris, she wants to teach special education one day.

"It makes me feel awesome that I can impact somebody like that and make them feel motivated," Jackson said.

Cline said Chris has made a lot of friends this year.

On Chris' first day of school this year, Cline said a student walked up to him, introduced himself and the two read a Dr. Seuss book together. That student, Johnathan Gage Asher, said it was also his first day in the district, and he introduced himself to Chris when he noticed him sitting alone.

"I don't see Chris differently as anyone else," Asher said. "He's one of the guys."

He said Chris was the second friend he made this school year. Asher made an effort to seek Chris out, Cline said, most days to say hi.

Transferring to New Bloomfield

Cindy and Jon Kampeter moved back to mid-Missouri in 2007 to be closer to family. Until coming to New Bloomfield's school district this year, they struggled to find an educational institution that was a good fit for their son, where he would be happy. The Kamperters - Cindy, Jon, Chris and their oldest son Mathew - lived in mid-Missouri previously. They moved to Colorado when Chris was two years old for Jon Kampeter's job.

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North Little Rock firefighter Josh Cox rinses the soap off of Engine 1 Monday afternoon while washing vehicles at Fire Station No. 1 at 8th and Maple streets.

After moving back, Chris bounced around to a couple different schools, mostly in the Cole County area. Finally, Cindy Kampeter called New Bloomfield Schools Special Services Director Sarah Wisdom and left her a message asking if the school would take her son.

"I was sure I would be met with a "no' answer, but in an answer to our prayers, Sarah called me right back with not just an OK but an "absolutely yes, we would love to have Chris,'" Cindy Kampeter said in her thank-you letter to the district.

She said she was expecting a "no" because in their experience, many schools refer students to the state school. The state school, Cindy Kampeter said, has its purpose, but it wasn't a good fit for Chris.

After seeing her son come home happy each day this past school year, Cindy Kampeter said she wished Chris could have attended New Bloomfield longer.

"If we had only known when we had moved into the New Bloomfield school district, that would have been such a blessing. He would have gone there as soon as we moved here." Cindy Kampeter said. "He's included in everything."

That inclusion is something Cline said she and the district push in the special education classrooms.

"The beauty of this building is that we're included," Cline said of her special needs classroom and students.

One of Chris' favorite classes this year has been computer class. But, Cline's class cooks once a

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week, takes walks on the district's nature trail and teaches core subjects such as science, which she said is usually the students' favorite subject. Cline said her students also take two classes with regular education students each year.

In those classes, she modifies her students assignments and tests to meet the requirements of their Individualized Education Program (IEP), an outline for special needs student that specifies their learning needs. But, her students participate in class activities and lectures with the regular education students, which helps them get to know students in their grade-level, she said. Cline added that she thinks all of the senior class knows Chris.

During the fall semester, the high school's students voted for Chris to serve as homecoming king, which his mother described as a big moment for him. When Chris was presented as king at homecoming, Cindy Kampeter said she heard a man in the audience near her say, "Our kids got it right, they know how important this is." In her thank you letter Thursday night, Cindy Kampeter echoed that sentiment saying, "Your students and staff got it right, not just on that night but everyday they honor Chris with acceptance and importance."

The district's emphasis on inclusion, Cindy and Jon Kampeter said, has helped Chris learn and improve. The Kampeters have noticed more confidence in their son this past year. Cline agreed that Chris shows more confidence. On his first day, she said he didn't speak at all. By the end of the year, Chris' routine when he arrived at school was to greet everyone in his class. And at first, Cline said Chris would ask for his mom all day long. But, as the year went on and Chris became more comfortable and happy at school, she said they heard him ask for mom less and less.

Life after graduation

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rick mcfarland

Richard Cooper ventures out onto the ice as his wife Joan Kennelly stays on the cleared portion of the Big Dam Bridge in Little Rock Monday. They are visiting from Chicago and had wanted to walk across the bridge, but it got icier out towards the middle and they decided to turn back.

Chris, his parents said, gets attached to people and places. While they both said they are excited for their son, they are also a bit worried how Chris will react when his daily routine no longer includes the halls, classrooms and faces of New Bloomfield High School, which have become such a comfort and source of happiness for him.

"I'm sad (to have him leave New Bloomfield)," Cindy Kampeter said. "It's just been an incredible year for him."

However, Cindy Kampeter said her son always surprises her with how adaptable he is to all of the changes he has had during his education and in life.

After graduation, starting Monday, Chris will attend a day center in Jefferson City that has a job training component. His parents both agreed Chris seems like he would be most happy working. He has held part-time jobs in the past which he enjoyed, Cindy Kampeter said. New Bloomfield including Chris in classrooms with regular education students has better prepared Chris, she said, for work environments.

The Kampeters also said they plan on Chris always living with them, but want to be prepared if he later decides he would be happier living in a group home so he could be more independent. Their son's New Bloomfield schools education, they said, made him ready for that possibility.

Chris' dream job, his parents added, would be to work as a character at Disney. Their son, they said, loves everything Disney and enjoys making others happy.

Chris' passion for contributing to the happiness of others each day is something Cindy Kampeter said others can learn from her son.

"We could all learn from Christopher. He loves everyone, always has a smile or a hug. He forgives easily and loves unconditionally. He could do anything to help someone and feels more deeply than any other person I know," Cindy Kampeter said Thursday.