KSSB Leadership

Jon has extensive experience working with students who have multiple disabilities, students with visual impairments, including deaf-blind, and the systems that are meant to serve these low-incidence populations. After four years serving as a special education teacher in Kansas schools, Jon worked for five years as an Assistive Technology Specialist at the Missouri Technology Center for Special Education, located at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Jon also worked as a Technical Assistance Specialist for the National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) for 14 years. NCDB is a national technical assistance agency funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to provide leadership and support to all 50 state deaf-blind projects across the United States.

In 2013, Jon was hired as the Director of Instruction at KSSB. He was named interim superintendent in the summer of 2017, and is presently serving as the superintendent.

Aundrayah Shermer, has been a Certified Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments and a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist for the past 28 years.  Aundrayah received her Master’s degree from Northern Illinois University and took her first teaching position with the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton, IA where she worked in outreach serving several regional areas throughout Iowa.

Aundrayah and her family relocated to the Springfield, MO area in 1998 to raise her children near their grandparents.  In Springfield, Aundrayah worked 16 years serving as a TSVI/COMS for the Springfield Public Schools and many surrounding regional school districts.  Aundrayah also worked with Missouri State University for 10 years training and preparing future TSVI’s and COMS.

In Spring 2014, Aundrayah was offered the Director of Field Services position at Kansas State School for the Blind.  She and her family relocated to Kansas during that summer, and she has enjoyed her many opportunities to grow in her professional position since that time.

Aundrayah’s life-long passion is serving in whatever capacity needed to meet the needs of individuals who have a visual impairment.  Young or old… teacher, mentor, advocator, and parent all describe her commitment to the field.

Pam Arbeiter is a Certified Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments and a Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist (COMS). She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary and Special Education from Southeast Missouri State University in 1995 after completing her student teaching in Swansea, Wales. She received her Master of Arts degree in Special Education from Michigan State University in 2002. Pam is currently completing post graduate work in Administration at Fort Hays State University. Pam started teaching students with special needs in 1995, and has extensive experience working with students, families, teachers & school districts in both rural and urban areas.

Throughout her career, Pam has worked in a variety of capacities including classroom teacher, itinerant teacher, private contractor, and educational consultant. She provided professional development and technical assistance to schools in the southeast region of Missouri through the Blindness Skills Specialist Program; worked as a TSVI / COMS for Missouri First Steps serving children birth-3 yrs; served as a TSVI & COMS at the Missouri State Schools for the Severely Disabled, and assisted with mobile low vision clinics via the Children’s Low Vision Project (CLVP) at Lighthouse for the Blind-St. Louis. Pam is a Past President of the Missouri Chapter of AER, and was the Chairperson of the Missouri Assistive Technology Council. She has given presentations at many local, state & national conferences including the Kansas Vision Symposium, The Power Up Assistive Technology Conference, Missouri Council of Administrators of Special Education Conference, Kansas Association of Special Education Administrators Winter Conference, and the Southeastern Orientation & Mobility Association Conference.    

After moving to the Kansas City area in 2016, Pam worked on the Early Intervention and O&M Team at the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired. She joined the Kansas School for the Blind in 2019 serving as a Regional Field Service Specialist. In that role, she was an instructional coach & mentor serving as a resource and providing professional development & technical assistance to educators in the Northeast region of Kansas. Pam is also a mentor for the Kansas eMSS mentoring program at Pittsburg State University. She has been the co-coordinator of the Extended School Year Program at KSSB, served as the chair of the Kansas Vision Symposium, and has worked on many other special projects at KSSB.  Pam has really enjoyed being a chaperone for students going to Space Camp, and to Make 48 Inventor Competitions. Pam lives in Lee’s Summit, MO with her husband Tim, and has two adult daughters.

Marites Altuna is an early childhood and accessibility leader whose work focuses on improving services for young children with visual impairments and their families. As Director of Family Infant-Toddler Services at the Kansas State School for the Blind (KSSB), she leads statewide vision services for children from birth to age three, collaborating with families, educators, agencies, and communities to strengthen access to early intervention services.

Previously, Marites served as Director of the Kansas DeafBlind Project, where she led federal grant development and statewide initiatives supporting children and youth with combined hearing and vision loss from birth through age 21.

Marites holds master’s degrees in Early Childhood Special Education and Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Kansas. She has also completed specialized training in deafblindness and visual impairments through Utah State University and Missouri State University.

Her leadership extends beyond her professional role through involvement in state, professional, and community organizations. Marites serves on the Kansas Early Childhood Recommendations Panel and the State Interagency Coordinating Council and is a board member of the Kansas Division for Early Childhood and the KC Blind All-Stars Foundation. She is also a committee member with the Pediatric Cortical Visual Impairment Society and serves on the advisory board of the Women’s Chamber Network of the Kansas City Kansas Chamber of Commerce.

Across these roles, Marites works to strengthen collaboration and expand access to services and opportunities for children and families.

This board meets twice a year: once in the fall and once in the spring. It serves to review the school’s activities and initiatives. The board provides feedback on ways the school can promote adherence to the mission, and it provides perspectives from consumers, parents, and teachers from the field.