Most might know Mrs. Downen as the quirky physics teacher with a baby deer fetus in her room. However, she has a long history of achievements and takes pride in her job.
Mrs. Janeen Downen is going on her 17th year of teaching science here at Madison. She has taught biology, environmental science, astronomy, and now physics, as well as coaching track, cross country, and soccer. Both of her parents happened to be teachers, and she chose to follow in their footsteps. “It makes me feel good when I can get the lightbulb to turn on.” The saying really is true: the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. When working with her students in physics, she provides many hands-on labs that can be easily related to real-world scenarios.
An amusing yet scary moment in her teaching career was ten years ago when a student got knocked out by a flying pig (plastic) while in a lab, hitting his face while he was doing calculations. “I was scared to call his mom, but I wanted to make sure he was safe and unharmed,” claimed Downen.
Teaching kids is very special for Downen because she was in those shoes at one point and struggled in her classes. Going into Texas A&M, she locked in and got her bachelor’s in Environmental Science, and since then, she’s given all the knowledge possible to her students. Back in 2021, Downen was a semi-finalist for Teacher of the Year for her hard work and dedication.
As for the mysterious deer fetus, that’s an interesting story. One evening, Mrs. Downen was going for a night drive when she heard a bump from the front of her car. When checking to see for any damage she found a pregnant deer with a perfectly preserved little fawn that unfortunately had passed before being born. Being a science teacher, she couldn’t have thought of a better opportunity than to store it. So, now in the corner of her room next to the snake embryo is a deer fetus.
Aside from deer fetuses and teaching science, Mrs. Downen has been a proud sponsor of the Interact club, which participates in many community service events around the city. Last year, they participated in 53 events and were named best in the district. Besting 55 other groups in our region is quite the accomplishment for the club, and she gives all the credit to her Interact kids.
