Four Derby High School (DHS) teachers will be recognized Thursday, May 8,  at The Arc Awards for their work with the Circle of Friends program. 

Karen Bainter, Caron Carlile, Debbie Ingram, and Kristen Pearson sponsor this program at DHS, called Panther Pals, which serves to pair up special needs students with general education students.

Circle of Friends was  started by Val Wall, a special education teacher from Maize High School.

Since inception, it has gained support from the Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) and is now a part of USD 259. 

The program quickly moved into nearby districts, including Derby, and is now spreading across Kansas and other surrounding states.

Derby’s Panther Pals program currently serves about 30 special needs students who are paired up with a “buddy.” 

These students are able to meet during seminar where the general education students volunteer as peer mentors; they do homework together, play games together, and just sit and talk with each other.

Panther Pals also coordinates activities for special needs students outside of school, including trips to the zoo, a dance at Orchard Park, and a pumpkin patch visit. 

Panther Pals has also taken advantage of the special city-wide basketball league with players and cheerleaders practicing weekly and participating in games on Fridays from January through the end of March.  These students are able to play against schools such as Andover, West, Northwest, and Chisholm Life Skills Center.

Another large event for this group includes the Circle of Friends Variety Show.

Panther Pals had 18 students from Derby in this year’s show, called Building the Circle 2, at North High School in Wichita. Over 14 schools participated with over 100 students, putting on three shows for hundreds of people. Derby performed a number called "Brand New Girlfriend" sung by Andy Gates and Korie Showalter as the others danced.

The rest of the program gives benefits on a much more personal level which is the main goal of the organization.  “Often special education students have a hard time making friends, simply from the fact that they are isolated from the rest of the school,” says Karen Bainter, Panther Pals Sponsor. “They now have friends that call them up, spend time with them, or simply say hi to them at lunch or in the halls.”

Bainter, Carlile, Ingram, and Pearson will be recognized at the The Arc of Sedgwick County’s May Board Meeting.

This will take place Thursday, May 8 at 6:30 p.m. at The Arc at 2919 W. 2nd in Wichita.