Festus R-VI Hall of Fame Inductee - Dr. Anthony Casey
2004 Festus R-VI Hall of Fame Recipient
Dr. Anthony Casey
Dr. Anthony Casey was born and raised in Festus and attended Festus R-VI Schools. In high school, he was a class officer and was involved in Student Council, football, and track. He graduated from Festus High School in 1959. Upon graduation, he attended the University of Missouri-Columbia, earning a B.S. in Education in 1963. He continued his education at St. Louis University, where he received his M.Ed. in Special Education in 1966, and his Doctor of Philosophy in Education in 1975.
Dr. Casey’s extensive educational career began as a teacher in an EMR Adolescent classroom in the St. Louis County Special School District. Subsequent teaching positions were in Special Education Departments of Brescia College in Owensboro, Kentucky; St. Louis University; Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville; and at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Casey has exhibited leadership as Director of Special Education at St. Louis State Hospital and Executive Director of Laurel Haven School for Exceptional Children, where he was in charge of a residential program for 150 severely retarded children and adults. As Director of St. Louis Regional Center for the Developmentally Disabled, he was responsible for purchasing community-based services in the least restrictive environment. As Director of St. Louis State Hospital Youth Center Complex, he directed a residential program as well as extensive outpatient services – comprehensive psychiatric, educational, social, vocational, and recreational programs. He also served in various consulting positions in the Western Kentucky Association for Retarded in Owensboro, Kentucky.
Dr. Casey’s commitment to the needs of individuals with disabilities has been uninterrupted since the start of his college career. He has been the Executive Director for the Jefferson County Commission for the Handicapped for the past twenty-three years. During his tenure, services in Jefferson County have increased from Early Childhood, Recreation, and Sheltered Workshop employment to the present offering of adult community support, residential services, county-wide transportation, adult vocational services, and case management.
Dr. Casey’s selfless dedication of his professional life to bettering the lives of hundreds of human beings with special needs makes him a good role model for people of all ages. These accomplishments reveal his exemplary character and earn him a deserved position in the Festus High School Hall of Fame.