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Mentoring deaf students breaks the sound of silence - EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA
Sitting in the Lawrence High School cafeteria, an engineer at Raytheon and three students developed a quick friendship without speaking a word. The four communicated using sign language. They learned about each other's families, school, work, and the students' futures.
The engineer, Donald Slate, 26, is a key to their futures. Slate will tutor Jose Geronimo, Carmen DeLeon and Lizbeth DePena, all 21 and Lawrence High seniors, in math and English using sign language. He is tutoring them through a program called Stand and Deliver.
Stand and Deliver is a mentor program for Lawrence students founded by Ed Warnshuis in 2001. This is the first year Stand and Deliver has matched deaf and partially deaf students with a mentor.
Slate is deaf. He grew up in Newton, where he attended public schools. He graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and has worked at Raytheon Corp. in Andover for two years.
"I always had a role model and the more you can expose them to, the more they can experience," Slate said. "I hope to show them and teach them to be better people, aim higher and achieve the best they can be."
Raytheon in Andover offers 70 mentors to help 80 students through the program. The employees work in finance, engineering and human resources. The students will meet at the Raytheon plant for tutoring.
Pennie Nelson-Shine, team leader at Raytheon, spoke of the benefits of having someone like Slate participate.
"It's going to be beneficial because they can communicate with him and he will expose them to a higher level of education and show them that there's life after high school," Nelson-Shine said. "He's going to expose them to life from the perspective of a successful deaf person."
The students, who will graduate this year, are all thrilled to have Slate as a mentor.
"I want to express myself better in English and I know I'll understand better when I work with Donald," Geronimo said.
In addition to honing her English skills, DePena wants to learn how to do more sign language.
"He's going to help me with schoolwork and have discussions about the world," she said.
DeLeon is not only happy about learning English, but about doing more in sign language.
"I feel lonely," DeLeon said. "I don't have anybody to get together with. It's very frustrating."
Their teacher at Lawrence High, Nancy Hogan, said having a tutor like Slate will bring a new component to their lives. The students have taken drama, dance and art at the high school.
"This is going to expand their world, not just in terms of communication, but also in knowledge and friendship," Hogan said.
Sitting in the Lawrence High School cafeteria, an engineer at Raytheon and three students developed a quick friendship without speaking a word. The four communicated using sign language. They learned about each other's families, school, work, and the students' futures.
The engineer, Donald Slate, 26, is a key to their futures. Slate will tutor Jose Geronimo, Carmen DeLeon and Lizbeth DePena, all 21 and Lawrence High seniors, in math and English using sign language. He is tutoring them through a program called Stand and Deliver.
Stand and Deliver is a mentor program for Lawrence students founded by Ed Warnshuis in 2001. This is the first year Stand and Deliver has matched deaf and partially deaf students with a mentor.
Slate is deaf. He grew up in Newton, where he attended public schools. He graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and has worked at Raytheon Corp. in Andover for two years.
"I always had a role model and the more you can expose them to, the more they can experience," Slate said. "I hope to show them and teach them to be better people, aim higher and achieve the best they can be."
Raytheon in Andover offers 70 mentors to help 80 students through the program. The employees work in finance, engineering and human resources. The students will meet at the Raytheon plant for tutoring.
Pennie Nelson-Shine, team leader at Raytheon, spoke of the benefits of having someone like Slate participate.
"It's going to be beneficial because they can communicate with him and he will expose them to a higher level of education and show them that there's life after high school," Nelson-Shine said. "He's going to expose them to life from the perspective of a successful deaf person."
The students, who will graduate this year, are all thrilled to have Slate as a mentor.
"I want to express myself better in English and I know I'll understand better when I work with Donald," Geronimo said.
In addition to honing her English skills, DePena wants to learn how to do more sign language.
"He's going to help me with schoolwork and have discussions about the world," she said.
DeLeon is not only happy about learning English, but about doing more in sign language.
"I feel lonely," DeLeon said. "I don't have anybody to get together with. It's very frustrating."
Their teacher at Lawrence High, Nancy Hogan, said having a tutor like Slate will bring a new component to their lives. The students have taken drama, dance and art at the high school.
"This is going to expand their world, not just in terms of communication, but also in knowledge and friendship," Hogan said.