The sun gleams and excitement beams from the crowd of eager attendees, waiting for their turn to fish. On Feb. 27, 2025, Texas High’s special needs population attended the 22nd Annual Fishing Derby, brought to the community by Texas Parks & Wildlife, Texarkana Area Fly Fishers, Texarkana Challenged Outdoorsmen and the City of Texarkana, and the Texas Park & Recreation Department.
“So today our kids are out here at Spring Lake Park, and this is basically a social event for our students to attend,” SPED Teacher Shanta Anjum said. “They get to fish and play a ton of sensory games out here today.”
These events provide the special needs community with something to look forward to each year, making them both impactful and memorable for everyone involved.
“Events like this impact the community very well,” Texas Park & Recreation Department worker Deontay Taylor said. “It just gives the kids something to do, something to look forward to. It’s a lot of fun, and the overall experience is great.”
Through this event, the students engaged with the rest of their community and enjoyed themselves outside of school. The teachers who helped organize this event hope the students will cherish the memories they created.
“[The fishing derby] gets them out into the community, It gets them out into the sunshine. Also collaborating with other schools is really good as well as the social interaction with all the kids,” SPED Teacher Stephanie Hodgson said. “I hope that they have a good time, that they really enjoyed being with their peers, and that they were outside of the classroom just having a great time.”
In terms of organizing this event, the SPED department eagerly anticipated taking part once more, since they haven’t been able to in previous years.
“There was a lot that went into getting the kids out here today,” Anjum said. “I had to contact Texas counterparts and recreationists, tell them who I was, what class I teach, and organize transportation for buses.”
