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Sunday Gazette-Mail - News
A deaf student’s parents sometimes have a difficult time finding a high-quality interpreter in West Virginia.
Officials from two state agencies who work with deaf and hard of hearing students realize a sea change is on the way, and one that’s expected to make it even more difficult to nail down a qualified interpreter who’s up to par.
By July, state education officials will require that school interpreters be graded on their skill level. The state Board of Education agreed that interpreters must reach a score of 3.0 on the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) by July 1. Skill levels on the EIPA range from zero to 5.
Annette Carey, coordinator for the deaf/blind program at the state Department of Education, knows that a lot of current school interpreters might not meet the mark. Still, she believes it’s necessary to test their skills.
“It’s a crunch that’s been long in coming. We’ve been concerned, I think, since the 1990s,” she said. “It’s the right thing to do.”
In Kanawha County, some parents and even interpreters believe that the lack of skilled interpreters hurts children’s chances to keep up in the classroom. Parents also complained of trouble with securing audio equipment and teachers for deaf students.
Christine Kannon’s son is a sixth-grader at Stonewall Jackson Middle School.
“They should have a deaf program that they can be proud of,” she said of Stonewall. “At this point, they don’t.”
Interpreters use sign language to relay information from the general classroom teacher to the deaf student.
Kannon argues that low-skilled interpreters fail to keep up with the teacher or to relay salient points to the student.
“The quality of any educational program is through the hands of that interpreter,” Carey agreed.
A previous audit of West Virginia interpreters’ skills in 2003 showed “we had some issues, critical issues,” Carey said.
“We’ve had interpreters working in some [areas] of the state with very poor signing skills,” said Deanna Stone, executive director for the West Virginia Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
For that reason, Stone believes the EIPA assessments ultimately will prove valuable. After a test is given and videotaped in West Virginia, the results will be mailed to the Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, Neb., where officials will view it and award a score.
The state Board of Education’s goal is to have school interpreters score at least a 3.0 by July and a 3.5 two years later.
Those who pass will earn a paraprofessional certificate.
“We don’t have blinders on,” Carey said. “We know we set levels that many will not make.”
nterpreters who fail the test will not necessarily lose their jobs right away, but county school officials must post the position and make a “good-faith effort” to employ a qualified interpreter.
Interpreters who do not score a 3.0 by July or a 3.5 by 2010, but continue to sign, would violate plans set up for a specific student with special needs or disabilities.
Such a school plan for a student with a disability is called an “individualized educational program,” or IEP.
The interpreter would not be punished if she applies for an assessment well before July 1, but is unable to take it — or get her scores back — until later, Carey said.
County educators can ultimately request a waiver in extreme cases if they have exhausted efforts to find a qualified interpreter.
Carey says some critics argue the new standards are too loose. Others say they’re too rigid.
Stone said the commission, which falls under the state Department of Health and Human Resources, offers workshops where interpreters can hone their skills. The same goes for Kanawha County Schools, where interpreters receive free training, said Keith Ann Smith, lead teacher of the deaf in the county.
Stone and Carey are unsure how many qualified interpreters already work in West Virginia schools. Usually, that’s just between the interpreter and their school systems, Stone said.
“We do not have that information,” she said. “It is confidential.”
After July 1, parents will know whether their child’s interpreter passed the assessment test.
Kannon said her son received excellent instruction at Shoals Elementary, his former school.
Shoals, Stonewall and Capital High School offer programs for deaf and hard of hearing students in Kanawha County.
Kannon has not, however, been satisfied with her son’s first few months at Stonewall.
She contends that her son’s teacher, Russ Shepherd, spends too much time interpreting for students and not enough time teaching one-on-one.
“I can’t get into a war of words with parents or anything like that in the newspaper,” Shepherd said. “If she has a problem she needs to bring it up during her child’s IEP meeting.”
Kannon said parents have sent letters to Kanawha Superintendent Ron Duerring, complaining about Shepherd and the placement of too many highly skilled interpreters at Shoals Elementary as opposed to Stonewall or Capital.
Smith, the county’s lead teacher of the deaf, would not discuss personnel issues.
She said, however, that a student might struggle more after their primary years because “middle school’s harder than elementary school.”
Smith was hired earlier this year and works at Capital.
“We try to match the interpreter’s skill level to the needs of the student. As I must repeat and emphasize, they’re trying,” she said. “Deafness is a low-incidence handicap and there are not a lot of people in the area who have interpreting skills. A lot of the interpreters that work for school systems are family members of deaf children.”
Like others, Smith said she does not know the skill level of county interpreters who already have taken the interpreter’s assessment.
When asked about teachers of the deaf that spend time interpreting, Smith called that “really just the best of both worlds.”
“I can’t speak for everybody, [but] I know what I do,” she said. “I go into classrooms all day long. But I never just interpret. Any of the other teachers are doing just the same thing.”
Four of six teachers of the deaf in Kanawha County Schools have master’s degrees, Smith said. Four teachers are stationed at Shoals. Shepherd is at Stonewall and Smith is at Capital. There are about a dozen interpreters at those three schools.
Everett Epperson said he had trouble getting equipment from an audiologist for his deaf son, a student at Shoals.
His son went 2 1/2 months this fall without an FM unit, a device that plugs into his cochlear implant and allows a teacher to broadcast sound through an FM frequency.
An audiologist who contracts with Kanawha County Schools did not return the device, which malfunctioned back in September, until late November, Epperson said.
Epperson said Smith has been responsive and worked quickly to help resolve the issue.
Smith realizes that some parents are concerned.
“I’m a parent and I always want the best for my children, too,” she said. “I just wish there was a little more understanding. When you sit down and talk about it, it just doesn’t seem so bad.”
Kannon says she also wants what’s best for her son and other deaf students.
“I’m not asking them to go above and beyond,” Kannon said. “I’m asking them to do their job.”
A deaf student’s parents sometimes have a difficult time finding a high-quality interpreter in West Virginia.
Officials from two state agencies who work with deaf and hard of hearing students realize a sea change is on the way, and one that’s expected to make it even more difficult to nail down a qualified interpreter who’s up to par.
By July, state education officials will require that school interpreters be graded on their skill level. The state Board of Education agreed that interpreters must reach a score of 3.0 on the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) by July 1. Skill levels on the EIPA range from zero to 5.
Annette Carey, coordinator for the deaf/blind program at the state Department of Education, knows that a lot of current school interpreters might not meet the mark. Still, she believes it’s necessary to test their skills.
“It’s a crunch that’s been long in coming. We’ve been concerned, I think, since the 1990s,” she said. “It’s the right thing to do.”
In Kanawha County, some parents and even interpreters believe that the lack of skilled interpreters hurts children’s chances to keep up in the classroom. Parents also complained of trouble with securing audio equipment and teachers for deaf students.
Christine Kannon’s son is a sixth-grader at Stonewall Jackson Middle School.
“They should have a deaf program that they can be proud of,” she said of Stonewall. “At this point, they don’t.”
Interpreters use sign language to relay information from the general classroom teacher to the deaf student.
Kannon argues that low-skilled interpreters fail to keep up with the teacher or to relay salient points to the student.
“The quality of any educational program is through the hands of that interpreter,” Carey agreed.
A previous audit of West Virginia interpreters’ skills in 2003 showed “we had some issues, critical issues,” Carey said.
“We’ve had interpreters working in some [areas] of the state with very poor signing skills,” said Deanna Stone, executive director for the West Virginia Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
For that reason, Stone believes the EIPA assessments ultimately will prove valuable. After a test is given and videotaped in West Virginia, the results will be mailed to the Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, Neb., where officials will view it and award a score.
The state Board of Education’s goal is to have school interpreters score at least a 3.0 by July and a 3.5 two years later.
Those who pass will earn a paraprofessional certificate.
“We don’t have blinders on,” Carey said. “We know we set levels that many will not make.”
nterpreters who fail the test will not necessarily lose their jobs right away, but county school officials must post the position and make a “good-faith effort” to employ a qualified interpreter.
Interpreters who do not score a 3.0 by July or a 3.5 by 2010, but continue to sign, would violate plans set up for a specific student with special needs or disabilities.
Such a school plan for a student with a disability is called an “individualized educational program,” or IEP.
The interpreter would not be punished if she applies for an assessment well before July 1, but is unable to take it — or get her scores back — until later, Carey said.
County educators can ultimately request a waiver in extreme cases if they have exhausted efforts to find a qualified interpreter.
Carey says some critics argue the new standards are too loose. Others say they’re too rigid.
Stone said the commission, which falls under the state Department of Health and Human Resources, offers workshops where interpreters can hone their skills. The same goes for Kanawha County Schools, where interpreters receive free training, said Keith Ann Smith, lead teacher of the deaf in the county.
Stone and Carey are unsure how many qualified interpreters already work in West Virginia schools. Usually, that’s just between the interpreter and their school systems, Stone said.
“We do not have that information,” she said. “It is confidential.”
After July 1, parents will know whether their child’s interpreter passed the assessment test.
Kannon said her son received excellent instruction at Shoals Elementary, his former school.
Shoals, Stonewall and Capital High School offer programs for deaf and hard of hearing students in Kanawha County.
Kannon has not, however, been satisfied with her son’s first few months at Stonewall.
She contends that her son’s teacher, Russ Shepherd, spends too much time interpreting for students and not enough time teaching one-on-one.
“I can’t get into a war of words with parents or anything like that in the newspaper,” Shepherd said. “If she has a problem she needs to bring it up during her child’s IEP meeting.”
Kannon said parents have sent letters to Kanawha Superintendent Ron Duerring, complaining about Shepherd and the placement of too many highly skilled interpreters at Shoals Elementary as opposed to Stonewall or Capital.
Smith, the county’s lead teacher of the deaf, would not discuss personnel issues.
She said, however, that a student might struggle more after their primary years because “middle school’s harder than elementary school.”
Smith was hired earlier this year and works at Capital.
“We try to match the interpreter’s skill level to the needs of the student. As I must repeat and emphasize, they’re trying,” she said. “Deafness is a low-incidence handicap and there are not a lot of people in the area who have interpreting skills. A lot of the interpreters that work for school systems are family members of deaf children.”
Like others, Smith said she does not know the skill level of county interpreters who already have taken the interpreter’s assessment.
When asked about teachers of the deaf that spend time interpreting, Smith called that “really just the best of both worlds.”
“I can’t speak for everybody, [but] I know what I do,” she said. “I go into classrooms all day long. But I never just interpret. Any of the other teachers are doing just the same thing.”
Four of six teachers of the deaf in Kanawha County Schools have master’s degrees, Smith said. Four teachers are stationed at Shoals. Shepherd is at Stonewall and Smith is at Capital. There are about a dozen interpreters at those three schools.
Everett Epperson said he had trouble getting equipment from an audiologist for his deaf son, a student at Shoals.
His son went 2 1/2 months this fall without an FM unit, a device that plugs into his cochlear implant and allows a teacher to broadcast sound through an FM frequency.
An audiologist who contracts with Kanawha County Schools did not return the device, which malfunctioned back in September, until late November, Epperson said.
Epperson said Smith has been responsive and worked quickly to help resolve the issue.
Smith realizes that some parents are concerned.
“I’m a parent and I always want the best for my children, too,” she said. “I just wish there was a little more understanding. When you sit down and talk about it, it just doesn’t seem so bad.”
Kannon says she also wants what’s best for her son and other deaf students.
“I’m not asking them to go above and beyond,” Kannon said. “I’m asking them to do their job.”
