South Dakota School Celebrates 30 Years of Special Education

YANKTON, S.D. (AP) — For more than 30 years, Yankton's Stewart School has had an entire wing of its building dedicated to providing special education services.

"It's been around since 1987, and was kind of created on a napkin by Joyce Wentworth, our former director of student services," said Jerome Klimisch, principal of Stewart Elementary School. "She got to be the design person with Linda Balfany, the special education teacher."

Stewart School, which was built in 1966, was a good fit because it was fully accessible to students with physical disabilities. In addition to the usual classrooms, The SPED wing includes an office for a speech therapist, a physical therapy room, an occupational therapy room, an outdoor playground in the back and a kitchen.

"The original plans included a working kitchen so kids could learn life skills and do laundry," Klimisch told the Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan . "Life skills are important for kids in Special Ed."