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Lakeland students, staff pleased with new building

ELKHORN — After a year and a half, students and teachers at Lakeland School, W3905 County NN, Elkhorn, still are pleased as punch with their new school building, Principal Greg Kostechka said.

The school, which opened in the summer of 2008, hosts 250 students from all the districts in Walworth County. The staff is made up of 90 teachers and support members.

Historically, the school has taught cognitively disabled students, Kostechka said. Over the years, the number of students with autism or behavioral challenges has increased, he said. Students range in age from 3 to 21.

In years past, Lakeland School has run the special-education programs in Walworth County school districts. Now, the districts are taking over that programming in partnership with Lakeland School, Kostechka said.

Lakeland operates "like a regular school" as much as possible, Kostechka said. Students in the secondary education programs change classes every period and have the usual high school mix of class options. But the focus isn't exactly the same, he said.

"In high school, for example, we work on a lot of life skills more so than they would in a regular school," Kostechka said.

Not every family chooses to send their children with disabilities to Lakeland, Kostechka said. About 2,000 students attend special-education classes in Walworth County public schools in addition to the 250 students at Lakeland, Kostechka said.

It's a personal choice whether to immerse special education students in "normal" programming or to send them to a school such as Lakeland, he said.

Kostechka obviously likes the atmosphere at Lakeland. He's been the principal for 15 years and taught at the school for 18 years before that, he said.

Students take ownership in the building and are comfortable there, he said.

"They don't feel out of place," Kostechka said. "I guess they have a good feeling about themselves. You see smiles on their faces."

Lakeland students take differences in ability as a matter of course, Kostechka said. Older students help younger ones, and disabilities aren't seen as unusual.

"It's unbelievable how they watch out for each other," he said.

From a teacher's standpoint, the resources at Lakeland are focused and plentiful, Kostechka said. Because every teacher deals in special education, they each understand where the other is coming from, he said.

"Some days are rough in dealing with some of our kids," Kostechka said. "We're really all in the same boat together. That makes it go."