Regents OK strategic plan for SD School for the Deaf

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The state government panel that oversees South Dakota’s public universities and special schools like what’s been happening with services for the deaf and hard of hearing.

The South Dakota Board of Regents on Thursday approved the 2024-2027 strategic plan for the state School for the Deaf, including the addition of a direct services program for students.

The school serves children and teens throughout South Dakota from birth to high school graduation.

The school’s director Kami Van Sickle highlighted achievements of the past year for the board during its meeting at South Dakota State University in Brookings.

“It’s incredible information,” Regents president Tim Rave told her. “You’re doing exceptional work in a challenging situation.”

The School for the Deaf is based in Sioux Falls, but its staff deliver many of the services to students in the communities where they live or at the schools they attend throughout South Dakota.

Student regent Brock Brown asked how many students come to the School for the Deaf’s physical office in Sioux Falls.

“We offer six appointments a day and we are booked out through February,” Van Sickle said.

That means they can’t provide intervention services as quickly as they should, she explained.

The school in 2011 closed its main campus along the 10th Street corridor in east Sioux Falls and sold the property in 2019. The school now operates from West 38th Street.

The board approved the strategic plan on Thursday without further questions.

“Great job,” Rave said.

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