Deaf Education Bilingual Statement

Educational Goal. The Education and Student Life Divisions directly serve students on the Deaf School campus. The goal of this program is to provide for early language acquisition and to facilitate the development of two languages, American Sign Language (ASL) and English. This goal is accomplished with the belief that for most Deaf students, American Sign Language is the accessible, dominant language used for communication, and thinking, while English is learned as a second language. By fostering competencies in these two languages and by providing an academically and culturally enriched learning environment, Deaf students will have the skills and attitudes necessary to function effectively with members of the Hearing Community. Most of our staff participate in the American Sign Language/English Bilingual Professional Development (AEBPD) under the Center on American Sign Language/English Bilingual Educational Research (CAEBER). We aspire that by 2014, all staff, under the Education and Student Life Divisions, will complete their training.