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Hearing-impaired cheerleader takes flight for Waukegan High - Lake County News-Sun
It was last spring when Marbella Franco, the girl who never joined a club or played on a team or brought home a boyfriend, summoned her courage and aimed for the pinnacle of high school popularity. She tried out for the cheerleading squad.
“I was so scared — all these people were looking at me,” said Franco, 17. “But I tried out. Then I waited to hear.”
But Franco, a Waukegan High sophomore, can’t hear. She has been deaf from birth.
“She sent me a message on Facebook,” recalled the school’s cheerleading coach, Stacey Bey-McKie. “She said ‘I’m hearing impaired. Can I still try out?’ I said ‘Of course!’ But I wondered. How do you cheer if you can’t hear?”
Franco not only made the JV squad. The five-foot, one-inch, 115-pound dynamo proved so good at the gymnastics of the sport that she has already been designated a flier — always a down feather of a girl, brave and big smiling, who tops the human pyramid, who is rocketed and twirled in the air before plummeting into out-stretched arms that catch her. Almost always.
Bey-McKie knew she had a star even before she coaxed Franco into the air.
“I really didn’t know what to expect,” said Bey-McKie, who has coached the team for four years. “Her tryout was so good, I cried.”
“It’s all new to me,” said Franco, who stepped into the hall during a practice last week to “sign” with interpreter Sarah Grubb. “I’m excited. I like to have people watch me and smile when I’m up there.”
Marbella can read lips. She uses an interpreter in some classes. She also communicates by writing notes, texting and via video phone. She doesn’t voice, but mouths the words of chants and cheers. An interpreter attends practices, stands behind the teammate calling the cheer and communicates to Franco what’s being said, yelled — “Go! Let’s go Dogs!” and talked about in side conversations.
“I want to know what’s going on,” Franco said. “That’s how you stay involved.”
“I treat her like any other girl,” Bey-Mckie said. “Marbella’s always on point.”
Franco is studious and motivated, according to Nicole Edgeton, who teaches Success, a reading and resource class for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
“She’s the kind of student who if she needs help, she’s very good about self-advocacy and seeking,” Edgeton said.
Franco wants to go to college and become “a deaf actor and dancer.” She has been inspired by performances at the International Center on Deafness and the Arts in Northbrook, a frequent field trip destination for the Success class.
“Marbella has always been very social and loves the spotlight,” Edgeton said. “She seeks out hearing and deaf peers. But I have noted a huge change this year. She’s excited about school. She’s made new friends.”
“Her confidence has gone up 100 percent,” Bey-McKie said. “She teases me all the time. ‘Am I going to do this next year? I don’t know.’ She’s ecstatic because people are looking at her in a totally different way.”
Bey-McKie reports that her JV flier has acquired a boyfriend — a fact shyly confirmed by Franco, who said she’s teaching her new hearing friend some signs.
“My life is a lot better since I’ve been involved with the team,” said Franco, who waves back to a girl down the hall. “There’s more to do. In classes, I have more opportunities to socialize. I have so many new friends. Cheerleaders are popular girls.”
It was last spring when Marbella Franco, the girl who never joined a club or played on a team or brought home a boyfriend, summoned her courage and aimed for the pinnacle of high school popularity. She tried out for the cheerleading squad.
“I was so scared — all these people were looking at me,” said Franco, 17. “But I tried out. Then I waited to hear.”
But Franco, a Waukegan High sophomore, can’t hear. She has been deaf from birth.
“She sent me a message on Facebook,” recalled the school’s cheerleading coach, Stacey Bey-McKie. “She said ‘I’m hearing impaired. Can I still try out?’ I said ‘Of course!’ But I wondered. How do you cheer if you can’t hear?”
Franco not only made the JV squad. The five-foot, one-inch, 115-pound dynamo proved so good at the gymnastics of the sport that she has already been designated a flier — always a down feather of a girl, brave and big smiling, who tops the human pyramid, who is rocketed and twirled in the air before plummeting into out-stretched arms that catch her. Almost always.
Bey-McKie knew she had a star even before she coaxed Franco into the air.
“I really didn’t know what to expect,” said Bey-McKie, who has coached the team for four years. “Her tryout was so good, I cried.”
“It’s all new to me,” said Franco, who stepped into the hall during a practice last week to “sign” with interpreter Sarah Grubb. “I’m excited. I like to have people watch me and smile when I’m up there.”
Marbella can read lips. She uses an interpreter in some classes. She also communicates by writing notes, texting and via video phone. She doesn’t voice, but mouths the words of chants and cheers. An interpreter attends practices, stands behind the teammate calling the cheer and communicates to Franco what’s being said, yelled — “Go! Let’s go Dogs!” and talked about in side conversations.
“I want to know what’s going on,” Franco said. “That’s how you stay involved.”
“I treat her like any other girl,” Bey-Mckie said. “Marbella’s always on point.”
Franco is studious and motivated, according to Nicole Edgeton, who teaches Success, a reading and resource class for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
“She’s the kind of student who if she needs help, she’s very good about self-advocacy and seeking,” Edgeton said.
Franco wants to go to college and become “a deaf actor and dancer.” She has been inspired by performances at the International Center on Deafness and the Arts in Northbrook, a frequent field trip destination for the Success class.
“Marbella has always been very social and loves the spotlight,” Edgeton said. “She seeks out hearing and deaf peers. But I have noted a huge change this year. She’s excited about school. She’s made new friends.”
“Her confidence has gone up 100 percent,” Bey-McKie said. “She teases me all the time. ‘Am I going to do this next year? I don’t know.’ She’s ecstatic because people are looking at her in a totally different way.”
Bey-McKie reports that her JV flier has acquired a boyfriend — a fact shyly confirmed by Franco, who said she’s teaching her new hearing friend some signs.
“My life is a lot better since I’ve been involved with the team,” said Franco, who waves back to a girl down the hall. “There’s more to do. In classes, I have more opportunities to socialize. I have so many new friends. Cheerleaders are popular girls.”