The South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired,
SDSBVI, has been around for over 100 years. It was first opened on March 1,
1900 in Gary, South Dakota. The campus consisted of the administration office,
girls’ dormitory, boys’ dormitory, auditorium, several barns, and a large
chicken house. The school also kept a large dairy herd, raised hogs, chickens,
and planted large gardens. They used the resources they got from the animals
and from the gardens on campus along with selling things like milk, meat, eggs,
and vegetables to the community.
In 1957
there was talk about relocating the school because the town of Gray had a lack
of opportunity for city travel experiences and the proximity to a college. So
after about a year of searching for a new and better place to put the school,
the State Legislature passed a bill authorizing that the school would be
relocated to Aberdeen. The State Legislature gave $800,000 to the purpose of
building the new school of the blind on the land that was donated to them by
the citizens of Aberdeen. The first class in the new Aberdeen building was on
September 18, 1961. After seven years of the school being open, they built an
activities building. Inside this building was a gymnasium auditorium which gave
them space for their students to have physical education, recreation, music,
drama, and other fun activities.
Throughout
the years the South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired have been
continuing to grow and change. They have been advancing in their teaching
methods and have been able to expand the limits on who the can teach. For example
in 1979 the South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired was able to
start serving the deaf blind. They were also able to start doing this because
of the funding from the state.
The students
that go here do not go to public school and many of them live on campus there
at the school in Aberdeen. There are many things that the kids are able to do
while attending the school for the blind. There are different school councils
and groups that they can be a part of. There are also many different activities
they are able to do including music, forensics, goalball, bowling, SPURS
(Special People Using Riding Skills), swimming, track and field, Special Olympics,
and other residential outings and activities. I think they’re doing a good job
teaching the students there how to live as close to a normal life as they can
there by letting them do things that everyone else gets to. I feel like their
motto really fits to what they are trying to do there to help those kids,
Visions of a Brighter Tomorrow through Education.
http://sdsbvi.northern.edu/alumni-history.htm
http://sdsbvi.northern.edu/alumni-history.htm
