Dana Steinwart is a devoted teacher.

So devoted that she tears up when she considers where her students might find themselves after high school.

“I just care,” she said. “They become family because I’m with them for four years every day.”

Steinwart is a special education teacher at Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park, Kansas. She teaches English, math, science and computer classes to more than two-dozen students.

In her 14 years as an educator, she has learned the value her students bring to the workforce as adults. But do others know, she wondered? Steinwart wants to do more, so she sent this curiousKC question to Flatland:

“I teach students with cognitive delays at the high school level. What can I teach this set of students so they may be meaningfully employed?”

Previously, Flatland shared the story of parent Kim Riley and a years-long quest through the education system to prepare her son with autism not only for high school graduation, but also the workforce.

Now, we’re introducing you to a Kansas City-area teacher who doesn’t know Riley, but who has a similar desire: meaningful employment for her students with disabilities.