Walking the halls during third period, an eager face can be seen pushing a cart labeled “Tony’s Delivery Service.” This friendly face belongs to Tony, a special needs student who along with his paraprofessional, Beth Anderson, make deliveries to staff throughout the school.

Tony is an amazing student; he will enthusiastically give anyone a hug and a warm handshake at every possible opportunity. Every day Tony collects the teachers’ mail, packages, and copies and delivers them to their classrooms.

“Tony’s Delivery Service” was started by Anderson. She was looking for an activity for Tony to do during third period that would be active. So she started by just going down to the copy room with Tony to pick up any mail for their classroom.

“When I was down there, I noticed that the copy room had all these copy orders stacked up all over the tables, and I thought perhaps we could help. I quipped to Shannon, the paraprofessional in the copy room that, “We should put up some signs that say ‘Tony’s Delivery Service’ and that night she made signs!” said Anderson.

So with permission from Principal Robert Bach and other leaders, the delivery service was created. The teachers got to decide whether or not they wanted to participate and have things delivered. Almost all of the staff wished to participate. Since these deliveries would be taking place during a class period, it had to be taken into consideration whether the benefits of the service would outweigh the minor disruption the deliveries could cause.

Science teacher Andrew Weaver is one of the teachers that has chosen to participate in the delivery service. He said, “I don’t think it is disruptive at all compared to what we would have to do otherwise, it’s just so efficient to have your stuff brought down to you.”

Even so, Anderson goes through great lengths everyday to limit the distraction that Tony could potentially make. One of the most difficult aspects is keeping Tony curtailed since he is such a social person. Tony is non-verbal so he socializes with hugs and handshakes. The challenge is to teach him to socialize appropriately when he is traveling throughout the school. It has been a challenge, but his progress is amazing.

Although, Tony doesn’t make a disturbance when he delivers his presence is still noticed and appreciated by the students.

Junior Lauren Lindahl said, “Whenever I see Tony make deliveries, he always seems so happy and excited to be helping. It always brings a smile to my face.”

Like many other special education students, Tony spends most of his time in his regular classroom. Tony also has Developmental Adaptive Physical Education (D.A.P.E.) twice a week and Speech and Language services. During his day, he works on his fine motor skills as well as participating in pre-vocational activities. One of Tony’s strengths is that he loves to help and has the ability to follow directions.

Often the student body does not always know what goes on with our special needs students, so hopefully Tony’s service can heighten awareness and show how beneficial his skills can be to the staff and students. He is a member of the Student Body and he is now representative of the many students we have in the special education department.

Anderson said, “He is an example to the students in our school that our special needs students are important and they desire to be included and appreciated for what they do.”

This activity allows Tony to stay active and provides a great outlet for his abundance of energy. He also gets to socialize and feel helpful and appreciated by his teachers and his peers.

“The staff knows his name and they are very supportive. The teachers have thanked him profusely and for that I am extremely grateful,” said Anderson.

The friendly and encouraging interactions he receives during his deliveries from teachers helps promote a strong sense of school community. It also reminds us that everyone deserves a chance to display and utilize their unique abilities.

It is important to remember that the special needs students in our building are part of the school community and deserve to be respected for all that they offer and add to our student body.