Jefferson City, MO: SPED center expands, serving 900 children

Aug 21, 2025, KRCG, New Bloomfield, MO: Special Learning Center begins classes at new campus

https://krcgtv.com/news/local/special-learning-center-begins-classes-at-new-campus-stephanie-johnson-debbie-hamler-campus-mike-bernskoetter-education-enrichment-center-goldschmidt-pediatric-therapy-center 

JEFFERSON CITY — After a more than three-decade run on Fairgrounds Road, the Special Learning Center has opened the doors to its new Debbie Hamler campus.

"To see it come alive is exciting," said Stephanie Johnson, the executive director at Special Learning Center.

Johnson said the expansion was needed. The Special Learning Center's website says the organization serves around 900 children with special needs.

"Our building will literally double the square footage of where we were on Fairgrounds Road," Johnson said. "Over the past five years, we have expanded from five early childhood special education classrooms to eight. We've doubled the number of children that we serve in our child care program, and we've brought on about seven new therapists."

The additional room will also allow the Special Learning Center to add new programs in the future. . . .

Johnson thanked the community for making the new campus possible. The price tag for the project came in around $15 million, with the state providing about half the funding.

"Our community came together and raised the other seven and a half million to make it possible," Johnson said. "This was a sizable project and could never have happened without so many great supporters in our community."