Schools name homecoming royalty with special needs

When Rosemount senior Erich Hoffmann was selected by his classmates as homecoming king, it was the realization of a dream.

"I've been waiting for this ever since I was a student at Scott Highlands [Middle School]," he said. "I just couldn't believe it. It was exciting for me because everyone just helped me out."

His parents, who were at the assembly, had a hunch he might be crowned king in late September. But "we didn't really believe it until we saw it," said his mom, Gail Hoffmann.

"There wasn't a dry eye in the place," she added.

Hoffmann, 19, has Williams Syndrome, a rare genetic condition caused when copies of several genes are missing. It can result in cognitive and motor issues.

Rosemount isn't the only Minnesota high school that selected royalty with special needs this fall — Blaine High School chose Brock Shepard as king and Simley High School crowned Paul Stokke.

Annandale High School, about 25 miles from St. Cloud, chose both a king and queen — Yazmin Vazquez Angel and Devin Stenson — with special needs.

"Number one, I think it means that this child has been included," she said. "I'm delighted to see that."

The more inclusion happens in schools, the more often students of all abilities are being seen in different school-related roles and spaces, said Richardson, who recalled that a student with disabilities in the Bloomington district received the same honor several years ago.

Ten percent of kids have some sort of disability. But even so, Richardson noted, students with special needs are twice as likely to be bullied in school as other kids.

It's a timely issue just now: October is National Bullying Prevention Month.

At Simley High School in Inver Grove Heights, senior Paul Stokke was excited just to be one of 11 young men nominated for the homecoming court in late September.

It was "a very big surprise that he was nominated," she said. And when he won, "he just didn't even know what to think."

By midweek, he said he was "ready to be Paul again" instead of king, she said with a laugh. A highlight: Getting to throw T-shirts into the crowd at the Friday night homecoming football game.

Paul, who has cerebral palsy, is an athlete who plays adapted sports and has competed in the Special Olympics. His mom described him as very social with a charismatic personality.

Gail Hoffmann said the description fits her son as well. Erich is "very socially engaging" with a sense of humor and empathy for others, she said.

Both moms said their sons have been included and accepted among students at their respective high schools.

Paul is mainstreamed three hours of the day, which allows him to interact more with classmates. Having him around also helps the other students see that people with disabilities are a lot like them, she said.

Stokke said that over the years, she's asked administrators to make small changes to make Paul feel more included, like allowing him to eat lunch with kids in his grade, or having his locker near other students' lockers.

She hopes her advocacy has benefited other kids with special needs as well, she said.

Hoffmann said her son was accepted by other kids "as soon as he walked into Rosemount as a ninth-grader."

Since Erich was in kindergarten, she, too, has insisted that he be included in the same activities as other kids, so seeing him as homecoming king was validating as a parent, she said.

Erin Adler • 952-746-3283