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Deaf students take over town for a day || Tacoma Weekly
For the average person, a day of running errands usually does not mean a day of struggling with communication.
For a deaf person, it is rare to go from the grocer to the bank to the post office with the ease and comfort of being able to communicate in his or her native sign language.
For 140 deaf and hard of hearing children, on May 2 the ability to easily communicate with every person across the city became a reality.
Students from across the state flocked to Junior Achievement’s BizTown in Auburn to put all they had learned about running a city into action, as well as be immersed in a day of total deaf culture.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in all my years of teaching,” said Cathy Corrado, teacher for the deaf at Birney Elementary School in Tacoma.
Corrado, who has been teaching in her field for 24 years, was the driving force in initiating the event.
BizTown is typically a program for hearing fifth graders of the Puget Sound area. It is a mini-city run entirely by students who are engaged for a day as business owners, employees, consumers and city officials. The students spend eight weeks learning a business-economy curriculum before participating.
While some deaf students have attended within hearing groups in the past, this was the first time deaf students were the majority in BizTown’s history.
While BizTown is intended to give all students an understanding of how the economic world works, Corrado believes the curriculum and field trip can make a bigger impact on special needs students.
“Many [children] have been going to the bank with their parents for years, but they don’t know what their parents are doing at the bank,” she said.
“When you see it, it’s real. It’s so hands-on and I think with deaf kids, the approach has to be concrete… let’s not talk about the bank, this is the kids actually having to do it.”
Students in BizTown have a job for the day, from checking water meters at the local businesses to anchoring Fox News. They also get a paycheck, pay the bills, and then go shopping.
Before the big day, students were interviewed for their jobs, learned about business loans and how to manage a bank account.
David Moore, president of Junior Achievement of Washington, said having a deaf day at BizTown is “the greatest thing” that has occurred in the facility.
“For kids with special needs [BizTown] has a dramatic impact. These kids will never forget this experience.”
Third through 12th grade students from eight school districts across Washington traveled to Auburn for the invaluable, and unforgettable, experience.
Students from all three Tacoma schools with deaf and hard of hearing curriculums – Birney Elementary, Baker Middle School and Mount Tahoma High School – were all present.
“With hearing impaired children there aren’t a lot of opportunities for them to have these kinds of exposure,” said Senior Vice President of Operations Melanie Hess.
Aleecia Gilbert, fourth grader at Birney, worked as a salesperson at BizTown’s mini Best Buy retailer for the day.
“I love this place,” she said. “You can buy things, you have a check. It’s easy – sell things, talk with people.”
Because such a small percentage of the general population is deaf, many deaf children are restricted to communicating within a small group of other deaf students at their school.
Being with more than 100 deaf students and signing adults could be a rare experience for many of the participants.
Corrado said they hope to continue this event annually.
Of the 26 facilities nationwide, Hess said others have not engaged deaf and hard of hearing students “to the best of her knowledge.”
Moore said Junior Achievement would be building on the concept nationwide.
For the average person, a day of running errands usually does not mean a day of struggling with communication.
For a deaf person, it is rare to go from the grocer to the bank to the post office with the ease and comfort of being able to communicate in his or her native sign language.
For 140 deaf and hard of hearing children, on May 2 the ability to easily communicate with every person across the city became a reality.
Students from across the state flocked to Junior Achievement’s BizTown in Auburn to put all they had learned about running a city into action, as well as be immersed in a day of total deaf culture.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in all my years of teaching,” said Cathy Corrado, teacher for the deaf at Birney Elementary School in Tacoma.
Corrado, who has been teaching in her field for 24 years, was the driving force in initiating the event.
BizTown is typically a program for hearing fifth graders of the Puget Sound area. It is a mini-city run entirely by students who are engaged for a day as business owners, employees, consumers and city officials. The students spend eight weeks learning a business-economy curriculum before participating.
While some deaf students have attended within hearing groups in the past, this was the first time deaf students were the majority in BizTown’s history.
While BizTown is intended to give all students an understanding of how the economic world works, Corrado believes the curriculum and field trip can make a bigger impact on special needs students.
“Many [children] have been going to the bank with their parents for years, but they don’t know what their parents are doing at the bank,” she said.
“When you see it, it’s real. It’s so hands-on and I think with deaf kids, the approach has to be concrete… let’s not talk about the bank, this is the kids actually having to do it.”
Students in BizTown have a job for the day, from checking water meters at the local businesses to anchoring Fox News. They also get a paycheck, pay the bills, and then go shopping.
Before the big day, students were interviewed for their jobs, learned about business loans and how to manage a bank account.
David Moore, president of Junior Achievement of Washington, said having a deaf day at BizTown is “the greatest thing” that has occurred in the facility.
“For kids with special needs [BizTown] has a dramatic impact. These kids will never forget this experience.”
Third through 12th grade students from eight school districts across Washington traveled to Auburn for the invaluable, and unforgettable, experience.
Students from all three Tacoma schools with deaf and hard of hearing curriculums – Birney Elementary, Baker Middle School and Mount Tahoma High School – were all present.
“With hearing impaired children there aren’t a lot of opportunities for them to have these kinds of exposure,” said Senior Vice President of Operations Melanie Hess.
Aleecia Gilbert, fourth grader at Birney, worked as a salesperson at BizTown’s mini Best Buy retailer for the day.
“I love this place,” she said. “You can buy things, you have a check. It’s easy – sell things, talk with people.”
Because such a small percentage of the general population is deaf, many deaf children are restricted to communicating within a small group of other deaf students at their school.
Being with more than 100 deaf students and signing adults could be a rare experience for many of the participants.
Corrado said they hope to continue this event annually.
Of the 26 facilities nationwide, Hess said others have not engaged deaf and hard of hearing students “to the best of her knowledge.”
Moore said Junior Achievement would be building on the concept nationwide.
