BVHS Best Buddies Pageant - Gallery 3

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. (See related story.) Photos by Jill Meier/BV Journal