Survival Strategies for Schools for the Deaf

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Heath

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After reading various blogs and viewing some vlogs (preferably the captioned ones), it is clear the deaf community feels schools for the deaf are threatened. Instead of wringing our signing hands, let's come up with some strategies for survival. Meanwhile, here are my random thoughts regarding what I believe schools for the deaf will have to do to survive. (For the record, I did not attend a school for the deaf prior to college, so I am not an authority on this subject. I can only state my thoughts on the matter. )

I believe that in order to survive, schools for the deaf going to have to turn themselves into the equivalent of exclusive private schools that happen to educate deaf students. They will have to adopt marketing strategies, and think of their competition as the local public school programs for the deaf. Instead of being viewed as "the deaf school" and having a stigma, they need to position themselves so that they will be viewed as schools that educate students who happen to be deaf.

They have to be welcoming of students with cochlear implants, and today's schools for the deaf do have many students with cochlear implants. What is going to be different is that they are actually going to have to market themselves to parents of implanted students. Just like a private school, they are going to have to tell parents "we happen to be a school for the deaf, but we can offer your child the same individualized attention that he/she would get at la expensive private academy." At the same time, they have to be able to tell parents "we offer the same challenging academic environment that your local school district does."

Most schools for the deaf today have parent-infant programs for parents of implanted infants. I was told by someone who worked at a school for the deaf, that those programs are crucial tools for bringing in the next generation of students. That person told me that some of the parents in the parent-infant program decide to leave after the program is completed, but others, impressed with the support they get from the school for the deaf, decide to stay and enroll their babies as regular students.

What to say to the parent who says "my implanted child is a hearing, speaking child who can talk on the phone, has plenty of hearing friends and does not need sign language?" I guess you could emphasize the social benefits of a school for the deaf, particularly for young teenagers. You could say to that parent, "yes, your child can hear and speak, but communication is still a bit of a struggle. Wouldn't your child be happier in an environment where he/she can communicate with ease?" Another approach would be the "birds of a feather" approach, "your child will have the opportunity to be with others (hearing, speaking, signing) just like him/her."

Are schools for the deaf actively marketing themselves at cochlear implant conventions? At local/regional deaf events like DeafNation Expos? Those events are prime marketing opportunities because many parents of implantees say that they do want their children exposed to deaf culture and sign language as they recognize that their children are still at heart, deaf children.

There are schools for the deaf out there that are attracting students and thriving. Which schools are they? What are they doing right? We need to hear from them so that other schools for the deaf can learn what to do. Schools like Maryland School for the Deaf and Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf are schools that I understand to be thriving?

Also, I don't have any concrete facts on this, but what is the cost of educating a deaf child in the mainstream versus the cost of educating that child at a school for the deaf? I did read in one blog that the blogger felt the cost was about equal when the services that a mainstreamed deaf child needs are factored in (sorry, I can't find that blog so that I could link to it). If schools for the deaf could streamline their costs so that they are cost-competitive with local mainstreaming costs, that could cause legislatures to be more willing to support schools for the deaf.

Last but not least, when are we going to get updated statistics so that we can start getting away from the old "fourth grade reading level for deaf high school graduates" statistic? Parents of newly identified deaf children are still hearing or seeing that, and being scared out of their minds. Surely the presence of more implanted deaf children, and deaf children who have benefitted from being identified as newborns, and therefore have good English, is making that statistic obsolete?

Berke Outspoken: Survival Strategies for Schools for the Deaf
 
Heath said:
After reading various blogs and viewing some vlogs (preferably the captioned ones), it is clear the deaf community feels schools for the deaf are threatened. Instead of wringing our signing hands, let's come up with some strategies for survival. Meanwhile, here are my random thoughts regarding what I believe schools for the deaf will have to do to survive. (For the record, I did not attend a school for the deaf prior to college, so I am not an authority on this subject. I can only state my thoughts on the matter. )

I believe that in order to survive, schools for the deaf going to have to turn themselves into the equivalent of exclusive private schools that happen to educate deaf students. They will have to adopt marketing strategies, and think of their competition as the local public school programs for the deaf. Instead of being viewed as "the deaf school" and having a stigma, they need to position themselves so that they will be viewed as schools that educate students who happen to be deaf.

They have to be welcoming of students with cochlear implants, and today's schools for the deaf do have many students with cochlear implants. What is going to be different is that they are actually going to have to market themselves to parents of implanted students. Just like a private school, they are going to have to tell parents "we happen to be a school for the deaf, but we can offer your child the same individualized attention that he/she would get at la expensive private academy." At the same time, they have to be able to tell parents "we offer the same challenging academic environment that your local school district does."

Most schools for the deaf today have parent-infant programs for parents of implanted infants. I was told by someone who worked at a school for the deaf, that those programs are crucial tools for bringing in the next generation of students. That person told me that some of the parents in the parent-infant program decide to leave after the program is completed, but others, impressed with the support they get from the school for the deaf, decide to stay and enroll their babies as regular students.

What to say to the parent who says "my implanted child is a hearing, speaking child who can talk on the phone, has plenty of hearing friends and does not need sign language?" I guess you could emphasize the social benefits of a school for the deaf, particularly for young teenagers. You could say to that parent, "yes, your child can hear and speak, but communication is still a bit of a struggle. Wouldn't your child be happier in an environment where he/she can communicate with ease?" Another approach would be the "birds of a feather" approach, "your child will have the opportunity to be with others (hearing, speaking, signing) just like him/her."

Are schools for the deaf actively marketing themselves at cochlear implant conventions? At local/regional deaf events like DeafNation Expos? Those events are prime marketing opportunities because many parents of implantees say that they do want their children exposed to deaf culture and sign language as they recognize that their children are still at heart, deaf children.

There are schools for the deaf out there that are attracting students and thriving. Which schools are they? What are they doing right? We need to hear from them so that other schools for the deaf can learn what to do. Schools like Maryland School for the Deaf and Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf are schools that I understand to be thriving?

Also, I don't have any concrete facts on this, but what is the cost of educating a deaf child in the mainstream versus the cost of educating that child at a school for the deaf? I did read in one blog that the blogger felt the cost was about equal when the services that a mainstreamed deaf child needs are factored in (sorry, I can't find that blog so that I could link to it). If schools for the deaf could streamline their costs so that they are cost-competitive with local mainstreaming costs, that could cause legislatures to be more willing to support schools for the deaf.

Last but not least, when are we going to get updated statistics so that we can start getting away from the old "fourth grade reading level for deaf high school graduates" statistic? Parents of newly identified deaf children are still hearing or seeing that, and being scared out of their minds. Surely the presence of more implanted deaf children, and deaf children who have benefitted from being identified as newborns, and therefore have good English, is making that statistic obsolete?

Berke Outspoken: Survival Strategies for Schools for the Deaf
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Most schools for the deaf have an early intervention program for all deaf infants and toddlers, not just for the implanted ones. For instance, St. Rita, the school my son attended, had the LOFT (language opportunities for toddlers) program that served birth-5 years old. It functioned like a preschool, used a total communication philosophy, and accepted not only deaf kids, but any child in the age limitthat had a language disorder or communication disorder. The large majority were deaf children, though. Once the kids reached kindergarten age, the school only accepted deaf students, but many had CI, and several were even international students from other countries.

My son's home school district paid his tuition. I moved into the Cincinnati area to be close to St. Rita, and then fought with the school district so much that they got tired of hearing me bitch about services not being provided according to the ADA that they finally agreed to pay his tuition to a school that could provide services. All local school districts are under federal law to do that, but they won't even consider it if the parent just accepts whatever they have to offer. You have to keep proving to them that what they can provide is not addressing your child's educational needs, and refuse to sign off on their IEP.
 
You could say to that parent, "yes, your child can hear and speak, but communication is still a bit of a struggle. Wouldn't your child be happier in an environment where he/she can communicate with ease
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?"
Or like, say that the kid might do even better with Sign? I know so many kids who did OK orally, but spent all their energy on speaking and talking. Sure, there are many high powered(even for a hearing kid) oral dhh honors students, but what about the average typical kid?

Also, push self sufficent living for the teens. Sort of like the Independant Living program at MSSD. Living away from home is fun, and creates a sense of independance. I remember when I was in college, I loved living away from home........was one of the best experiances EVER!!!!!!!!!
jillo and heath...........also maybe create seperate departments at the Deaf Schools, for the severe multihandicapped kids and the dhh kids. One thing that's a problem is that at some Deaf schools, the severe multihandicapped kids are the majority, so the kids who are just dhh tend to lose out.
 
Believe me that is a sore subject at my work and in so many meetings. We are already developing strategies, implementing changes and more. I cant reveal too much since it is not in my place but changes will be happening soon but what? We dont know yet.
 
I saw this and I thought this would be a very good one because Deaf schools really need to survive. This is not my blog but that of somebody else's and it is worth reading. I do really hope there will continue to be Deaf schools in the 21st Century.
 
Well you know what? I always always encourage parents on my lists, to send their dhh kids to schools for the Deaf for early intervention. Also I encourage them to look into schools for the Deaf, if their kids aren't really doing too well in the mainstream.
 
deafdyke said:
Well you know what? I always always encourage parents on my lists, to send their dhh kids to schools for the Deaf for early intervention. Also I encourage them to look into schools for the Deaf, if their kids aren't really doing too well in the mainstream.
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Happy to know that you are doing that dd. Wish more people would!
 
I'm sorry, but I think state schools for the deaf suck! They claim to have "bi bi philosphy" and then when we choose to speak while signing (some of us like to) they scream at us to shut the fuck up. Fuck that shit.

And living in the dorms? That is not fun. That is torture! The staff in the dorms tried to pull all kinds of shit on me and my foster parents (because well I had 2 foster moms). Eventually I quit. Glad I quit.

Students there are horrible.

I also think it is terrible that so many parents send their deaf kids to the state school for the deaf which would be like 3-4-5 or more hours away. Now many deaf kids tell me that they hardly have a relationship with their parents because they only saw them on the weekends.A lot of the kids there have been at the school since they were like 2-3 years old until they graduate from high school! How the hell is that supposed to prepare them for the real world?! Sometimes I feel like they have decided that it would just be easier to stash their deaf kids at the state school rather than keep them in local public school and work with their kids on school, language, and communication stuff. Most parents don't even sign. A lot of them don't even try. I personally think it's the parents' responsibility to work with their kids and try their best and try all options before sending the kids off to the state school.
 
LuciaDisturbed said:
I'm sorry, but I think state schools for the deaf suck! They claim to have "bi bi philosphy" and then when we choose to speak while signing (some of us like to) they scream at us to shut the fuck up. Fuck that shit.

And living in the dorms? That is not fun. That is torture! The staff in the dorms tried to pull all kinds of shit on me and my foster parents (because well I had 2 foster moms). Eventually I quit. Glad I quit.

Students there are horrible.

I also think it is terrible that so many parents send their deaf kids to the state school for the deaf which would be like 3-4-5 or more hours away. Now many deaf kids tell me that they hardly have a relationship with their parents because they only saw them on the weekends. Sometimes I feel like they have decided that it would just be easier to stash their deaf kids at the state school rather than keep them in local public school and work with their kids on school, language, and communication stuff. Most parents don't even sign. A lot of them don't even try. I personally think it's the parents' responsibility to work with their kids and try their best and try all options before sending the kids off to the state school.
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So, are u for shutting all state schools for the deaf down?
 
LuciaDisturbed said:
Not necessarily. Maybe a revamp/overhaul of sorts? I will elaborate later, need to get my thoughts together.
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Ok ..was just wondering if u believe in shutting them down or not. :) yea, I agree about a revamp and re-evaluation of the programs.
 
I have noticed that so many parents just simply send their deaf children to the state schools for the deaf when they find out their child is deaf. They don't try to learn sign, they don't try the local intervention programs (dhh programs) and even trying to work with the child at home. They send them to the state school for the deaf when the children are at a very young age, and they stay there until they graduate from high school. They only see their children on weekends. They barely know their own children, the staff at the school knows the children way better than their own parents. I think that is sad. Also, if they are there from a very young age (2-3-4 years old) until they graduate from high school (age 18-21). They haven't really learned very much how function in the hearing world (I'm sorry, but deaf community is smaller than hearing world, and you can't really avoid dealing with hearing people - jobs, college, independent living, etc). I know there is Gallaudet, and if you are lucky, a deaf-related job. But deaf-related jobs are not very plenty. About maybe 80-90% of the jobs there are not deaf related at all and you have to learn how to communicate with the hearing people, be it writing back and forth on a piece of paper, using an interpreter for interviews, whatever). Sometimes, you have to do without an interpreter (I have). No, you can't expect places such as SSA or whatever to conjure an interpreter right out of thin air. I have seen so many deaf people acting all snotty and say "the ADA says they must provide interpreter for us, RIGHT NOW right now this second!" Um okay. (yes, I actually saw this deaf couple say that at the SSA office a few years ago) This is why a lot of places ask you to make an appointment so they can provide you with an interpreter for sure...walk in, well, don't expect to have an interpreter appear out of thin air. (exceptations: emergencies like in ER, police stations, etc where they have interpreters on call - in some places)

State schools for the deaf can be excellent as an intervention type of thing, when all other options are just not working out at all, the child is stuck and falling behind, etc, it can help the child catch up. Short term, maybe, 1-2 years. Maybe pre school, kindergarten and, maybe first grade. But eventually they need to start learning early on how to interact with hearing people. Good place to start would be a local public school with dhh program and some mainstreaming. I hope you understand what I am getting at. As for socialization, that can be done after school. Find a deaf youth organization or start one. churches for the deaf, sunday school there. School isn't for socialization with your friends, anyway. I have noticed some students sometimes chose to go to the state school for the deaf usually because they wanna see their friends. I know, I did when I was in high school. Now I regret it.

I hope I made some sense, I'm rambling. I have more to say but need to get more thoughts together.
 
State schools for the deaf can be excellent as an intervention type of thing, when all other options are just not working out at all, the child is stuck and falling behind, etc, it can help the child catch up. Short term, maybe, 1-2 years. Maybe pre school, kindergarten and, maybe first grade. But eventually they need to start learning early on how to interact with hearing people. Good place to start would be a local public school with dhh program and some mainstreaming.
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Oh definitly.....I think that most schools for the Deaf should really be promoting their lower school departments, so that dhh kids can get a good solid base in their education. They should really work to become a resource center for deafness. They should work on a full toolbox thing......trying to make themsleves more hoh friendly and offer more speech therapy and things like that. They should DEMAND parents be involved.........yeah I know.....it does seem like a lot of the low rates of sucess are due to parental noninvolvement. They should have an Upper School (high school) program....I definitly think they need to improve imensely...............also they need more money so they can attract better teachers.
 
I also think that better standards should be pushed in all state schools for the deaf. So many deaf people who had gone to those school graduated with maybe a 4th-5th level reading level. I remember that *all* of my classes at my school (WSD), they were just too fucking easy. It seems like we were doing elementary school level schoolwork when we were in high school. I recall that for my biology class all we had to do was color and label the anatomy or parts or whatever and that was it. As a result, I don't know shit about biology.
 
So many deaf people who had gone to those school graduated with maybe a 4th-5th level reading level.
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True, but I mean kids who went to mainstream (except if they're SuperDeaf types) tend to acheive simaliarly.............the work is harder, but b/c they don't know how to teach kids like us, they fall through the cracks.
 
deafdyke said:
Oh definitly.....I think that most schools for the Deaf should really be promoting their lower school departments, so that dhh kids can get a good solid base in their education. They should really work to become a resource center for deafness. They should work on a full toolbox thing......trying to make themsleves more hoh friendly and offer more speech therapy and things like that. They should DEMAND parents be involved.........yeah I know.....it does seem like a lot of the low rates of sucess are due to parental noninvolvement. They should have an Upper School (high school) program....I definitly think they need to improve imensely...............also they need more money so they can attract better teachers.
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I agree with you completely on this one. Unfortunately, too many kids are only sent to a school for the deaf after they begin to develop problems in the mainstream. It would be so much better to take a proactive stance.
 
LuciaDisturbed said:
I have noticed that so many parents just simply send their deaf children to the state schools for the deaf when they find out their child is deaf. They don't try to learn sign, they don't try the local intervention programs (dhh programs) and even trying to work with the child at home. They send them to the state school for the deaf when the children are at a very young age, and they stay there until they graduate from high school. They only see their children on weekends. They barely know their own children, the staff at the school knows the children way better than their own parents. I think that is sad. Also, if they are there from a very young age (2-3-4 years old) until they graduate from high school (age 18-21). They haven't really learned very much how function in the hearing world (I'm sorry, but deaf community is smaller than hearing world, and you can't really avoid dealing with hearing people - jobs, college, independent living, etc). I know there is Gallaudet, and if you are lucky, a deaf-related job. But deaf-related jobs are not very plenty. About maybe 80-90% of the jobs there are not deaf related at all and you have to learn how to communicate with the hearing people, be it writing back and forth on a piece of paper, using an interpreter for interviews, whatever). Sometimes, you have to do without an interpreter (I have). No, you can't expect places such as SSA or whatever to conjure an interpreter right out of thin air. I have seen so many deaf people acting all snotty and say "the ADA says they must provide interpreter for us, RIGHT NOW right now this second!" Um okay. (yes, I actually saw this deaf couple say that at the SSA office a few years ago) This is why a lot of places ask you to make an appointment so they can provide you with an interpreter for sure...walk in, well, don't expect to have an interpreter appear out of thin air. (exceptations: emergencies like in ER, police stations, etc where they have interpreters on call - in some places)

State schools for the deaf can be excellent as an intervention type of thing, when all other options are just not working out at all, the child is stuck and falling behind, etc, it can help the child catch up. Short term, maybe, 1-2 years. Maybe pre school, kindergarten and, maybe first grade. But eventually they need to start learning early on how to interact with hearing people. Good place to start would be a local public school with dhh program and some mainstreaming. I hope you understand what I am getting at. As for socialization, that can be done after school. Find a deaf youth organization or start one. churches for the deaf, sunday school there. School isn't for socialization with your friends, anyway. I have noticed some students sometimes chose to go to the state school for the deaf usually because they wanna see their friends. I know, I did when I was in high school. Now I regret it.

I hope I made some sense, I'm rambling. I have more to say but need to get more thoughts together.
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I agree with u there but why is it the deaf school's fault? My school has adopted the public school curriculm and with a few modifications to meet the visual needs of our students, we follow the curriculm. We have a bi-bi philosophy..ASL in the air and English in print. We do not do both at the same time. We have dedicated staff who work hard with children especially the ones who are delayed in language and dont have family support as u stated, Lucia. It is not easy but we care so much for these children and will work hard to get their language development at their age appropriate level.

Now, our problem is that many of our students' parents are not actively involved with their learning progress so as a result, many of our students are delayed. I have one student who has so much potential but she doesnt do her homework at home, doesnt have anyone to communicate with at home since nobody in her family signs, and she came to our school at the age of 3 with NO language so she was already delayed. Now, at the age of 7, her ASL language development is pretty amazing but when it comes to English, she really struggles with it. If her parents could expose her to English as much as they could at home, it would help a lot. I send home voacabulary cards for her to sit and practice with her parents but nobody signs the paper that I attach them to stating that they had practiced it and her math homework is all done wrong or not done at all. How is she supposed to develop her English reading and writing skills if she only sees English 6 hours a day 5 times a week?

Even if the deaf schools gets a total make over and follow the public school curriculm, we still have children who come to our school so delayed and we work hard to get them to read, write and think at their age appropriate level but without any home support, it makes the job very challenging cuz those kids really need language 24/7.

Some of my deaf friends who are adults said they are glad that they were put in dorms full time growing up. They said if it wasnt for dorm life, they probably wouldnt be where they are now and not able to read and write as well as they do now due to their families unwillingness to learn sign language and being left out all the time.

I think the schools are not to be fully blamed for this problem. The kids who had been sent to us from mainstreamed programs due to not doing well, usually dont have family support.

I noticed that there is usually no blame being put on the mainstreamed programs for failing the kids? The child or the family tend to get blamed for it but people are so quick to blame deaf schools. Why?
 
All of you bring up alots of good points and I have been in both mainstream and Deaf schools. I never really had a problem being in school, it was just that I did not like homework and I was always fighting most of the time but I do see how that can affect some Deaf people for the better or the worse from being in mainstream or Deaf schools. The teachers were really good to me so I can't really complain there.

Everybody has had different experiences from being in mainstream or Deaf schools.
 
You raise some excellent points there, Shel. I remember my shock when I became a student at deaf school and I was appalled at the educational levels of the students there.

I think home support is key to education. Those kids really suffered from the lack of parental involvement. A lot of the parents can't really communicate with their kids and that's sad.

You teachers for the Deaf have the work cut out for you.
 
deafskeptic said:
I remember my shock when I became a student at deaf school and I was appalled at the educational levels of the students there.
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I noticed that at Deaf schools too. I could not believe how angry another Deaf students were when they told me to not criticize their english and some even got into fistfights with me over their english. The thing here is that I was not criticizing their english. I was just trying to help and years later, after all of us graduated, I noticed the ones that kept on being angry about their english did not really have good jobs while the ones that made serious efforts with their english reading and written skills had jobs that paid really good money. I am very thankful my parents made sure I had a proper command of the English language.
 
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