Best Buddies end inaugural year in ‘pageant style’

There were no sashes draped over the shoulders of the “contestants” or crowns to be won at the Best Buddies Pageant.

In fact, every “contestant” that crossed the stage of Brandon Valley’s Performing Arts Center was deemed a winner simply for taking a chance on forming new friendships in Best Buddies style.

On a rainy Sunday afternoon in late April, Brandon Valley High’s Best Buddies program – the first of its kind in South Dakota – celebrated its inaugural year with a pageant that put newly formed friendships in the spotlight. The concept behind Best Buddies is to create friendships between kids with disabilities and their peer buddies. At the start of the 2016-17 school year, approximately 60 Brandon Valley High students were paired with 15 of their special needs peers, and the friendships bloomed from there.

Amy Frantzen, a special education teacher at Brandon Valley who introduced the program here, said the kids could hardly contain themselves in the weeks leading up to the end-of-the-year pageant.

“I think it means a lot to our kids. They’ve been looking forward to this for weeks, talking about it and getting excited about it. It just brings more awareness, and for the families to see their kids be a part of something in school like this has been exciting for them, too,” Frantzen said.

Thirteen special needs students and their Best Buddies took part in the pageant that included strolls across the stage donning “when I grow up” attire and again in dresswear. The pageant wrapped up with bouquets of flowers and personalized gift bags for each of the special needs students, in addition to awards for simple traits such as “Best Smile,” “Best Dancer” and “Most Talkative.”

Michelle Mashlan, whose daughter Josie was paired with her Best Buddies, Danica Kocer and Sarah Presler, said she witnessed positive changes in Josie this year.

“It’s been a great opportunity for Josie to get out into the community and have fun with her friends. She’s always excited, and she’s enjoyed Danica and Sarah and everything that’s been part of this,” Mashlan said.

Frantzen said the overall goal for the first year of the program was to bring awareness of inclusion and to build new and lasting friendships. And as the program develops, she’s hopeful that Best Buddies will expand both locally and in area high schools in South Dakota.

“I’m definitely hopeful that it can keep growing and that we can get more kids involved. I’m also really excited that there are some other schools in the area that are getting on board so that we can maybe do some large group events, like a prom, for example,” she said.

Sioux Falls Roosevelt and Lennox are both working to start a Best Buddies program for their students, Frantzen added.

Local response to the program was overwhelming, Frantzen said.

“I had no idea that we could pull off something big like this pageant and just the support we’ve had from the community and the participants has really been exciting to see,” she said. “And if you just get to know some of these kids and the special talents they have and things they bring to everyone’s lives, they’re just like everyone else, and it’s fun to see them shine!”

Although the school year has ended, Frantzen said friendships born out of the Best Buddies program will continue through the summer and well past high school.

“I’m hoping to plan some activities in the summer. I know everybody gets busy with vacations and stuff, so I’m thinking it will be more informal, like a bonfire, things like that,” she said. “And I’m hoping some of these are life long friendships, not just high school friendships.”

Elsie Zajicek, a BVHS 2017 senior who served as the club’s president, plans to continue her friendship with her Best Buddy, Kaylie Pederson, as she moves onto Wayne State College in Nebraska this fall.

“I am just a phone call away,” she assures. “Ellie Stettnichs graduated last year and we Facetime all the time. These kids know that if they write me letters that I’ll write them back because I would do anything for any one of these kids.”

That’s the same dedication to the Best Buddies program president-elect Josh Donahoe developed this year.

“To start off, I was a little bit tentative. I didn’t know how this was going to go but right now I am so glad that I did it. First of all, Daniel (Robinzine-Smith) has changed because of Best Buddies, and it’s a good change for Daniel. He’s my buddy, and I had no idea that we would be such good friends at this point and that we would get along so well; he’s a great friend,” said Donahoe, who said he’s recognized positive changes in himself, too.

“I’m probably a little bit more tolerant now because it’s like having a friend who is a little less mature than you, but it’s really great because it’s making me more tolerant as a person and it’s making him understand social etiquette, things like that … which is great,” he said.

Although eager to move on from high school, Zajicek said Best Buddies made her senior year an even more memorable year.

“This is my senior year, and it’s been the best year of my life,” she said. “Because these kids make me the happiest person in the world.”