I need help!!!!

L

ldsoccergirl

New Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2012
Messages
27
Reaction score
0
I'm doing some reaserch about Deaf School and where I live there are only three Deaf Schools. That's all I know about the school for the deaf. So please I need someone who knows all about it or anyone that go deaf schools in PA.
 
Are you looking into trasnferring to the Deaf Schools? I know Western PA School for the Deaf is supposed to be REALLY good. I don't know about Pennsylvania School for the Deaf ...Scranton State School I also don't know.....You could also transfer to Model Secondary School for the Deaf in Washington DC.
 
Well I'm thinking about transferring to a deaf school but I'm trying to find out which deaf school is better.
 
Here in DE we have a brand-new deaf school with dorms. I am pretty sure you would have to be a DE resident, though.
 
ldsoccergirl said:
Well I'm thinking about transferring to a deaf school but I'm trying to find out which deaf school is better.
Click to expand...

I'd suggest calling/emailing each school and asking to set up a day/afternoon you and your parent(s) or guardian) could come for a tour and speak with various people (staff and hopefully some students) about their school.

Ask about things like sports/extracurricular programs, teams, support services like tutors and peer study groups etc. Even if you aren't interested in all of these things, it's a good idea to know exactly what a school offers and what kind of "community" they are ... if lots of students are in involved in various extracurricular activities, it's usually a good indication that the school has a good "school pride", "team spirit" and sense of "community" - all of which is something that's very important.

Of course, you also want to find out as much as you can about the type of academics each school overs, because it can vary a lot between schools.
Some Deaf schools specilise in programs for students who have multiple-challenges including mobility, cognitive delays, learning disabilities etc and happen to also be Deaf.
Other schools are mostly populated by students who are "typical students who happen to be hoh/Deaf". These schools focus on students wanting course instruction that is the same level(s) ,quality and variety as their hearing peers, but in an Hoh/Deaf accessible environment, and where the languages of instruction include ASL (and written/read & if applicable spoken English).


If you are doing well in school so far and are taking standard level classes, then you'll want to look for a Deaf school that will continue to challenge you at the same level, with the added bonus of being in a Deaf friendly environment where you can get to know other Hoh/Deaf peers (and adults) in your area.

Good luck :)
 
Well then look into Western PA School for the Deaf. It's an AWESOME school from what I've heard.
The good news is that almost ALL Deaf Schools have academic kids. I think you can also stay at a lot of schools until you're 21 or have an extra year....JoeyDeafNinja is doing that at FSDB!
 
deafdyke said:
Well then look into Western PA School for the Deaf. It's an AWESOME school from what I've heard.
The good news is that almost ALL Deaf Schools have academic kids. I think you can also stay at a lot of schools until you're 21 or have an extra year....JoeyDeafNinja is doing that at FSDB!
Click to expand...

Just so no one misinterprets my post.

Of course almost all Deaf schools have academic kids (actually all schools have academic kids, by definition...)

What I meant is that just like hearing schools, different schools can have a different primary focus,depending on the area, and specific needs of the majority of the student body.

Some schools (hearing or Deaf) may have a high number of students who are immigrants, or come from homes were the primary language is something other than English (or ASL). In Deaf schools, there are still situations were some students arrive with little or no proper language at (English or ASL) because they have no accessible language model at home.
In these situations, schools make sure they have significantly more "remedial" or "learning fundamentals" type classes, and are less likely (due to lack of demand) to offer a wide selection of standard or advanced classes - because the students attending currently need something different.

Likewise, there are hearing and deaf schools who are "magnet schools" for those who excel in classes and are looking for not only a variety of standard level classes, but advanced courses as well. The school focuses on these courses and levels (not remedial/fundamentals) because that is what the students attending at the time want and need.

Anyone, hearing or hoh/Deaf who's looking to change schools and has multiple options should look around and see what variety of learning environments are available and what best suits them ... just like no too people are created the same, there are no to schools that are the same either - and finding the school like "matches" the student is, obviously important :)

Hope that clarifies things?
 
Last edited:
Anij said:
Of course, you also want to find out as much as you can about the type of academics each school overs, because it can vary a lot between schools.
Some Deaf schools specilise in programs for students who have multiple-challenges including mobility, cognitive delays, learning disabilities etc and happen to also be Deaf.
Other schools are mostly populated by students who are "typical students who happen to be hoh/Deaf". These schools focus on students wanting course instruction that is the same level(s) ,quality and variety as their hearing peers, but in an Hoh/Deaf accessible environment, and where the languages of instruction include ASL (and written/read & if applicable spoken English).


If you are doing well in school so far and are taking standard level classes, then you'll want to look for a Deaf school that will continue to challenge you at the same level, with the added bonus of being in a Deaf friendly environment where you can get to know other Hoh/Deaf peers (and adults) in your area.

Good luck :)
Click to expand...
I think that the way to tell if a Deaf school is academic if they have a seperate special needs department to handle kids with additional issues.
 
and the really good news with Schools for the Deaf is that most of them tend to have a significent population of academic kids. Like at schools for the blind, most students there are mentally handicapped.
 
Of course almost all Deaf schools have academic kids (actaully all schools have adademic kids, by definition...)
Click to expand...
I use academic to mean kids who take academic classes or a mix of academic and slightly not as rigiourous classes, as opposed to students who would take functional academic classes or life skills classes, which are the type of classes that someone with a mental disabilty would take. Understand now? Heck at Schools for the Blind there are even classes and programs for kids that are for students who are severely/profoundly disabled/multihandicapped.
 
So......that I should look for a school that "matches" me? Or umm look at the academic classes? I'm a little confuse!!! At first we're talking about schools match then blind people then academic then blind people.
 
ldsoccergirl, ask and do research.........contact the schools and see what the offer. I know Western PA School is VERY academic, which is good. And don't forget about MSSD, which is also very academic as well. You could go right to Gally or NTID from there!
 
Back
Top