http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3712456
Utahns rally for better treatment of deaf and blind students
July 8th, 2008 @ 12:00pm
By Nicole Gonzales
Parents, children and advocates for deaf and blind students are letting their voices be heard today. Nearly 100 people gathered at the Capitol this morning to rally for children who attend Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind.
Parents, children, grandparents and even a legislator showed up this morning to support deaf and blind children who, they believe, should get the same benefits other children get.
Parents say their children are facing an educational nightmare. Students have been moved every year to different locations with no permanent building to call their own.
Whitney Ingram was one of the older deaf children at the rally today. She is going into 10th grade and wants to finish out high school at a stable location.
“We’re in one building for a few years, then they send us to a different building. And the buildings are old, and they’re kind of crumbling. We really want to go to a school that’s nice, where we can stay,” Ingram said.
Ingram is like many Utah deaf and blind students who have to move year to year to different locations to go to school. Some of the younger children don’t understand why they’re being moved.
“They’ll ask, ‘Well, why can’t we go back to that school?’ And you just say, ‘They don’t have room for us.’ And they ask, ‘Why don’t they have room for us?’ ‘Well, we don’t know, honey,” explained Ellen Porter, grandparent of a deaf student.
Utah has just over 2,100 students who are blind or deaf; 350 to 450 of them attend schools in the Salt Lake Valley, most are part of regular classrooms or mainstreamed.
Seventy-five to 80 children will move to a temporary facility in Holladay this fall. But some mothers still do not know where their children will be this year. “I’m scared to death. I’m scared to death. He wants to know where he’s going to be,” Jennifer Jackson said.
Organizers hope today’s protest brings awareness to the situation and gets the Legislature to back their cause. A House representative at the rally said there’s no excuse to ignore these children.
“I’m hoping that this year will be different. I’m hoping that these parents and teachers and the advocates being more vocal, more visible, will make it harder to deny their legitimate request,” said. Rep. Christine Johnson.
People who spoke at the rally wanted to remind residents to write to their representatives about this problem. They said the only way the system will change is if more of the public speaks up.
E-mail: ngonzales@ksl.com
Independent board would benefit deaf, blind youths
April 30, 2007
Please support Senate Bill 757/House Bill 3334 to establish an independent school board for Oregon School for the Deaf and Oregon School for the Blind. This would abolish control by Oregon Department of Education. The school boards should consist of a majority of deaf or blind representatives who have a greater understanding of educational needs for these schools. Other states already have their own boards for deaf and blind schools.
The termination of the Oregon School for the Deaf’s former director, Jane Mulholland, is considered a very serious mistake to everyone involved in the deaf community.
The Oregon Department of Education’s recommendation to move programs from Oregon School for the Blind to Oregon School for the Deaf campus is a waste of money, senseless and not approved by Oregon School for the Deaf and Oregon School for the Blind supporters who feel it’s an unsafe environment for blind students. This move would abolish the historic Oregon School for the Deaf museum and the alumni association office from the campus to make room for the blind school. This is probably illegal.
To ensure high-quality education for deaf and blind students, it is imperative that these bills pass.
– Mark Loil Hamstreet, Dallas
Senator President Peter Courtney
Senator Vicki Walker
Senator Margaret Carter
Rep. Betty Komp
and other legislators
CEASD Board of Directors
Gallaudet University Deaf Historian
My name is Kenneth Colley, and I attended OSD from 1947 - 1953. I come from a family of 10 children, four of us Deaf and we all attended OSD.
I was “mainstreamed†in the public school systems of Keno, Oregon and Winchester, Oregon. While there I feel farther and farther behind in my education.
At the age of 14, I was sent to OSD where I rapidly acquired the education I needed to be successful in life.
At OSD, they knew and understand the needs of the deaf students. Understand the differences inherent in being deaf, and used that knowledge to educate us much more appropriately than the public school system in general.
As ab adult I trained with and worked for Lockheed Missle and Space Company in Sunnyville, California. I retired after 31 years service. My final 8 years Lockheed, I was a lead person. At retirement my job title was “Electric and Electronic Development Mechanic†working in both the Naval and Air Force divisions.
I firmly believe that the education I received at OSD made my success possible. Without the influence of students and staff at OSD, I would not have had the confidence and belief in myself that made this success possible.
Since my retirement in 1991, my wife and I returned to Salem. So we could be close to OSD and offer our support to students there. I attended most sporting competitions at OSD and was voted #1 Fan (2005 - 2006 Basketball Season).
Over the last several years I have seen a gradual improvement at OSD, both in the education and social skills and behaviors areas. I believe these improvements are due to the superior understanding of the deaf exhibited by Jane Mulholland, recently dismissed director of OSD.
I feel strongly that the ODE does not understand or respect the different needs and concerns of deaf or blind students and their families. It appears the ODE has a severe case of tunnel vision, it sees and nears only those things that support its objectives.
The newest insult to OSD and its alumni association is that assault on our history. As Deaf individual, our history is a source of strength for us all. To see, to know we can! Please do not allow ODE to take away such an important part of our struggle and our successes. Once lost, it will never again be reclaimable. This is important to everyone, deaf and hearing. Please support that SB 757 to passes! Thank you.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Colley
