About Mr. Downs!

Greetings! My family and I have been a part of the Vista community for seven years as all three of my children now attend Vista Del Sur (Evie – 7th, Elijah – 5th, Matthew – 2nd). This is a wonderful place of learning and growth, and I am overjoyed to help 7th and 8th graders continue to learn and grow as mathematicians!

I am originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan (go Lions, Pistons, Red Wings, Tigers, and UofM!). I moved out to Los Angeles, California to attend Biola University (Go Eagles!). After four years at the University earning my Bachelor’s Degree in Biblical Studies and Theology, I came over to sunny Phoenix, Arizona to hopefully get married to my future wife (I did!). Brittney (Instructional Coach at Cheatham Elementary) and I have been blessed in our 17 years of marriage and have three kids (mentioned above) and a cat (Isadora) as evidence 🙂 Our family loves to read together, watch movies, play games, build Legos, and take the occasional hike up South Mountain.

Besides living in South Phoenix, I worked at The Salvation Army Kroc Center for eight years before joining the amazing Vista teaching staff so I know and love this community. I also hold a Master’s Degree from Phoenix Seminary and consider myself a lifelong learner. My hope is to encourage students at Vista to be lifelong learners too!

If you have any questions about Middle School math at Vista, please do not hesitate to reach out: mdowns@laveeneld.org