Scranton State School for the Deaf supporters rally at capitol

[Miss-Delectable]

Scranton State School for the Deaf supporters rally at capitol - PennLive.com

Supporters of the Scranton State School for the Deaf rallied at the state capitol this morning. Hoping to stave off the proposed closure of the 129-year-old school, demonstrators were clad in bright blue SSSD T-shirts and carried signs saying "Save Our School."
Many of the supporters arrived by bus from Scranton. Featured were speeches by school alums, trustees and legislators from the northeastern part of the state who support the cause.

Gov. Edward Rendell has proposed eliminating state funding for the school in his 2009-10 budget plan in February, claiming the move would save taxpayers around $8 million annually.

Speakers at this morning's rally argued the costs associated with closing the school would exceed the budget benefits by forcing deaf students to attend schools farther from their homes, or to return to public school mainstream programs which they claim do not adequately meet the needs of deaf children.

Following the rally in the capitol rotunda, the school's supporters delivered a three-foot high stack of petitions to Rendell's office containing over 51,000 signatures opposing the school's closure.

 

[Miss-Delectable]

Deaf school to go to rally

Deaf school to go to rally | Wilkes-Barre News | The Times Leader

Board members, administrators, parents, alumni and others will travel to Harrisburg today to try to rally support for the Scranton State School for the Deaf.



“We have yet to be given the opportunity to state our case to the governor and to the Department of Education,” said Marge Davison, chairwoman of the Board of Trustees.

Attorneys for families of students at the school filed a preliminary injunction in federal court Monday, asking the court to stop the state from closing the school until legal proceedings against them are resolved.

“The request for an injunction is an appropriate move so there is an opportunity to determine if the governor’s plan is proper,” state Sen. Lisa Baker, D-Lehman Township, said. “If the injunction is turned down, our attention has to turn to a transition plan because the interests of the students and families are first and foremost in this debate.”

Kristin DiPerri, Ph.D, literacy specialist at SSSD, refuted claims that academic achievements at the school are below those at other private schools. She said most of the students at SSSD transfer there from public school systems and arrive deficient in reading and math. She said they experience steady, sometimes dramatic improvement at SSSD.

“We get these students at a below-average level and we teach them our way and they improve,” DiPerri said. “Now the state wants to return them to the very system they came from where they were deficient. It’s insanity.”

DiPerri said the state Department of Education last evaluated SSSD in 2007, just prior to the end of the school year. She said SSSD was notified a week before the survey – something DiPerri says is very unusual.

“When the process is not open and not transparent, it makes you suspicious,” Davison said.

“Two members of the team were from the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf – the group that is supposed to take over SSSD,” DiPerri said. “Prior to that, no one here at the school has any recollection of another state evaluation.”

DiPerri said students and staff have no idea where they will go if and when the school is closed.

“As far as I know, not one of our teachers has received an offer to stay on,” DiPerri said. “That tells me that our teaching methodology won’t be used next year.”

DiPerri said Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf uses a “total communication” method of teaching deaf children.

“They teach signing and talking at the same time,” she said. “It’s like trying to sign in Japanese and speak German at the same time.”

 

[deafdyke]

We get these students at a below-average level and we teach them our way and they improve,” DiPerri said. “Now the state wants to return them to the very system they came from where they were deficient. It’s insanity.”

Exactly!
The attitude is that mainstream is better then deaf schools. That's b/c overall deaf schools and programs are set up on the failure in mainstream first model......if kids started out at deaf schools, and got the proper intervention, rather then just craptastic "resource room" intervention, we wouldn't havr that problem.

DiPerri said Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf uses a “total communication” method of teaching deaf children.

“They teach signing and talking at the same time,” she said. “It’s like trying to sign in Japanese and speak German at the same time.”
05-04-2009 09:53 AM

On the other hand, WPSD is supposed to be a very good deaf school.

 

[shel90]

My friend works there. She will lose her job this June.

 

[jillio]

What a shame for students and staff alike. RE: the statement about the school getting students from the mainstream that have fallen behind.....same old, same old. Mainstream fails them, deaf school gets the blame.:roll:

 

[shel90]

What a shame for students and staff alike. RE: the statement about the school getting students from the mainstream that have fallen behind.....same old, same old. Mainstream fails them, deaf school gets the blame.:roll:

Since WSPD teaches TC, I doubt any of the deaf staff will be offered to stay on. No wonder my friend lost her job. :roll:

 

[jillio]

Since WSPD teaches TC, I doubt any of the deaf staff will be offered to stay on. No wonder my friend lost her job. :roll:

**nodding** We're moving backwards it would seem, instead of forward.:|

 

[ASLGAL]

I hate it that the thread that person, mis-information, was posting in was closed on us.

Never did get a response about all the information we provided to disprove her 'mis-information'

I hope all the supporting officials from each party stay involved and save that school!

 

[jillio]

I hate it that the thread that person, mis-information, was posting in was closed on us.

Never did get a response about all the information we provided to disprove her 'mis-information'

I hope all the supporting officials from each party stay involved and save that school!

You and me both! On both counts.

 

[Foxrac]

Exactly!
The attitude is that mainstream is better then deaf schools. That's b/c overall deaf schools and programs are set up on the failure in mainstream first model......if kids started out at deaf schools, and got the proper intervention, rather then just craptastic "resource room" intervention, we wouldn't havr that problem.
On the other hand, WPSD is supposed to be a very good deaf school.

That's your problem about mainstream school, it's on your own but not for most of us, I have been raised in mainstream school and don't get any problem.

In general, mainstream school has better education for deaf people than in most deaf school, there's not many good deaf school in US and you don't take equal classes as hearing students does.

It's state's decision to close the deaf school, if low enrollment has been issue then school is supposed to close, no way to operate with low enrollment.

Deaf school has been start fade because more deaf children are receive CI or favor into mainstream school today.

 

[Lighthouse77]

Mainstreamer here from preschool to 12th and look how I turn out. Don't know that's good or bad LOL (btw, just let some of you know, I am severely HOH since birth)

One thing I do know is that if they don't know what to do about you, they will put you in LD class. (English was the only LD class I had)

 

[shel90]

That's your problem about mainstream school, it's on your own but not for most of us, I have been raised in mainstream school and don't get any problem.

In general, mainstream school has better education for deaf people than in most deaf school, there's not many good deaf school in US and you don't take equal classes as hearing students does.

It's state's decision to close the deaf school, if low enrollment has been issue then school is supposed to close, no way to operate with low enrollment.

Deaf school has been start fade because more deaf children are receive CI or favor into mainstream school today.

Deaf schools nowadays are using the public school curriculm so what the deaf kids are learning are what the hearing kids are learning but all of their needs get met as opposed as sitting in a classroom full of 30 plus hearing kids trying to keep up.

 

[Foxrac]

Deaf schools nowadays are using the public school curriculm so what the deaf kids are learning are what the hearing kids are learning but all of their needs get met as opposed as sitting in a classroom full of 30 plus hearing kids trying to keep up.

Not all deaf school are ahead to public school, not in our state and in GA, education is so-so in high school dept but not good in elementary and middle school dept.

Well, education on between deaf and hearing students are different since deaf students need extra help because some of them have trouble to understand about something. Having 30 students in one classroom at high school is normal and would best if schedule is in block, such as 90 min per class and many hearing students don't have problem, long as teachers are good.

I have no problem with mainstream school, even 30 students in one classroom with interpreter when schedule is block.

 

[shel90]

Not all deaf school are ahead to public school, not in our state and in GA, education is so-so in high school dept but not good in elementary and middle school dept.

Well, education on between deaf and hearing students are different since deaf students need extra help because some of them have trouble to understand about something. Having 30 students in one classroom at high school is normal and would best if schedule is in block, such as 90 min per class and many hearing students don't have problem, long as teachers are good.

I have no problem with mainstream school, even 30 students in one classroom with interpreter when schedule is block.

Well, where I work, we have 90 minutes blocks for each subject too. We have Smartboards in every classroom, have FM systems to meet those with auditory needs in every classroom, every teacher uses ASL, class size are small, several Deaf adults as role models are present and most important of all..everyone feels like a family and as a result, the children bond with the adults very well. I think we have a lot more to offer than mainstreamed programs. Someone told me that the deaf school in GA very good. That person has two kids going there.

 

[Foxrac]

Well, where I work, we have 90 minutes blocks for each subject too. We have Smartboards in every classroom, have FM systems to meet those with auditory needs in every classroom, every teacher uses ASL, class size are small, several Deaf adults as role models are present and most important of all..everyone feels like a family and as a result, the children bond with the adults very well. I think we have a lot more to offer than mainstreamed programs. Someone told me that the deaf school in GA very good. That person has two kids going there.

I had met few of my friends from GA school for the deaf, not in Atlanta and education isn't good, they are very behind on anything and enrollment has decline in over years.

If you refers to Atlanta area school for the deaf then it's good school, GA has 2 different deaf school, if not then it could be school dept, such as high school dept isn't good as elementary/middle school dept.

I remember about smartboard but not necessary for mainstream school and I went to mainstream school that has good education but smartboard isn't used either.

Remember, hearing and deaf students are different when come in education structure, plus don't compare the suburb school with inner city school because most inner city school are underfund and bad society, however some inner city school are good, it's depends on area and there's bad school in inner suburb that where high minorities and poverty.