A LEGISLATIVE COMMEMORATION, Recognizing Shirley Swanson for her remarkable career in teaching.

WHEREAS, after over forty-five years of teaching, Stanley County educator Shirley Swanson is retiring. Shirley grew up in Redfield and attended the University of South Dakota, earning a degree in Elementary Education in 1977 and a master’s degree in Elementary Education in 1990. Shirley began her teaching career in 1978 at the Oak Creek Country School in Todd County, teaching a combined second and third grade class before moving to Colome to teach Title I. Shirley began teaching sixth grade at the Stanley County School District in 1979 and taught middle school reading, English, math, social studies, and high school German. She also taught summer school at the Pierre School District for three summers; and

WHEREAS, Shirley has been involved in numerous school-related activities and programs during her career, and currently serves as the Student Council Advisor and the Assistant Theater Director. She has also overseen the Accelerated Math and Reading Program, arranged school pictures, coached and judged the Odyssey of the Mind program, taken high school students to the Freshman Impact seminar, and arranged for participation in the National Geography Bee. Shirley has also served on various school committees, including for coronation and the Veterans Day program, and wrote the district’s newsletter for eight years; and

WHEREAS, Shirley has been active in community and state projects and organizations. In 1999, her sixth-grade class mapped the Scotty Philip Cemetery. In the early 2000s, Shirley and her classes assisted in the Fallen Sons and Daughters World War II project and the Korean War and Vietnam War Memorial projects. For their work on the Korean War project, Shirley’s seventh-grade class was read into the Congressional Record by U.S. Senator Tom Daschle in 2004. Shirley joined the South Dakota Education Association in 1979 and served as president of the local chapter since 1990. She also served as chapter vice president and as a member of the bargaining team. Shirley has received many teaching awards during her career:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT COMMEMORATED, by the Ninety-Eighth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, that Shirley Swanson be honored for her steadfast commitment to education and her forty-five incredible years of teaching.