Rushmore State News

PIERRE, S.D. – Kim Wadsworth, the current Superintendent and established advocate for the South Dakota School for the Deaf, announces her retirement effective this spring. Wadsworth has been at the South Dakota School for the Deaf since 1997 and has worked in deaf education for more than 35 years. 

"Kim Wadsworth has devoted her professional life to deaf and hard of hearing education," said Board of Regents Executive Director Brian Maher. "She has assisted countless students and families, and we are grateful for the work she has done in our state."

Wadsworth began her career in 1985, teaching at the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind. In 1997, she returned to South Dakota to work with the South Dakota School for the Deaf (SDSD) as an Outreach Program Consultant traveling to homes and school programs to educate parents and educators about the needs of deaf and hard of hearing children. She later became the SDSD Outreach Director and, in 2020, was selected as the school's Superintendent. 

"It has been a privilege spending my career with people dedicated to supporting children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families," said Wadsworth. "South Dakota is fortunate to have such knowledgeable and passionate outreach and audiology teams, and I was honored to work among them."

In addition to her leadership roles at the South Dakota School for the Deaf, Wadsworth holds certification with the Council on Education for the Deaf, was a longtime member of the South Dakota Special Education Advisory Panel, created the Ribbon of Service Partnership, and reinstated the SDSD Advisory Council.

Wadsworth's retirement from the Board of Regents' system is official at the end of May 2023. A search has begun for new leadership for the South Dakota School for the Deaf, located in Sioux Falls. For more information and to apply, visit yourfuture.sdbor.edu/postings/32770.

Original source can be found here.