On July 31st, 1995, Doctor Jon Green becomes the fifteenth superintendent of the South Dakota School for the Deaf in Sioux Falls. Green’s nine-year tenure at the school was highlighted by the implementation of a bilingual education program and the establishment of a “Friends of the SDSD” Foundation.
The South Dakota School for the Deaf was established in 1880 by Reverend Thomas Berry. He was responsible for the school's administration which included the hiring of the first teacher at SDSD, Miss Jennie Wright. Wright assumed the position of superintendent a year later as the school settled into its current property on Eighth Street in Sioux Falls.
In 1889 as South Dakota achieved statehood, the school was placed under the governance of the Board of Charities and Corrections. The SDSD's student population grew to 100 by 1916.
In 1939, Arthur Myklebust began a 34-year tenure as superintendent and brought many changes and improvements to the school. They included a Speech and Hearing Aid clinic in 1942, the only one of its kind in the United States at that time. In 1945, the school was placed under the Board of Regents governance. In 1966, The Hearing and Speech Center was established to serve children and adults who were deaf and hard of hearing and their families.
Today the focus of the School for the Deaf remains the same: To provide quality resources and support adapted to the individual needs of children who are deaf or hard of hearing to help them become active, productive citizens.
Production help is provided by Brad Tennant, Dakota Wesleyan University