Arkansas School for the Deaf

[tone] [intro music] Arkansas School for the Deaf has its buildings and grounds, but ASD is really its people, its students, staff, alumni, and supporters. Arkansas School for the Deaf has its traditions, but its focus is on the future of its young people. ASD is a special place, not so much because of the special needs of its students, students, but because of its spirit, its belief in what is possible.

[music swells, then fades] [birds chirping] The Arkansas School for the Deaf has a very similar program that is used in public schools. We teach the same general classes, but we also have a vocational education department where we specialize on specific areas. We train students, hoping that in the future they will be ready to go out in the workforce or to go to a college. Many of our students attend ?Gallaudet? University. We also have students that go to some other colleges that have programs especially for the Deaf. Some of the programs that we have here at ASD in our Vocational Department are Business Communications; we have cleaning and pressing and we have Graphic

communications. [hammering on wood] We have a program here where we place students out on the job. And this year, we've had three senior boys who have been working here with our woodworking teacher who has been teaching them how to build a building. They have really been involved in this. They've worked very hard, and you can see the results - a part of the building behind the Vocational. And the boys have been really excited because it's their building and they have pride in this area. And home economics - we have 4 basic areas of study which is under the State Department of Education. These 4 areas are child development, clothing - textiles, home management, and food and nutrition. We also have a program that I'm very, very proud of:

it's the bachelor living program, where our boys who are seniors live in the home-making department and participate in the full scope of learning how to live after graduation - after life at ASD. We are required under the State Department to have an IEP on each student, and each teacher is responsible to develop that IEP - Individual Educational Plan - on each student. I think, really, one of the keys to being successful here at ASD uhh ,is our abilities to work with the students on an individual basis. We have smaller classrooms and under the State Department of Education we are limited to only 15 students in each classroom. One example of working individually - it's how we work on computers here at ASD. Each classroom

has a computer and the students have the opportunity to work on them often. We also have a computer lab, where the students go to the lab and work in a group on the same lesson plans. Computers are wonderful. I never thought I would see the day where I would think that. They are in every room, or most of the rooms now, starting with the lower school. Even my CBI students have computers, and they enjoy working on it. Let me tell you a little bit about CBI. We work with special needs children. They range with autistic abilities. They are - some of them can't read. It's, it's hard for them to understand words. Uh. Also some may be, uh, CP - just different things. Anyway, uh, our children cannot

learn in an academic program. They must have, um, um what you call functional skills. We have what they call Parent Infant, and this is from birth to four years old. They come to our program to learn language. The parent brings them to school. Also, the parents are taught the language - signing skills. In the past, the students would come to school without language. Now, because of the Parent Infant, most of our kids have some language. All of our students go to speech. In the speech room, we have a new machine, a computer, where the student learns to use pitch with his voice. It can be high or low. If a student can't

hear, then he doesn't know how high his voice is. So he can see it on the machine which is the computer. ASD uses telecommunication. When I say telecommunication, I mean we talk, we sign at the same time. This is, uh, why do we do this? Because if we have a kid that can use speech, it's alright. He understands the speech. But if we have another kid that can't understand the speech, signs only, then both students are getting what we mean. We continue to have, uh, uh, kids without a lot of language, so we have to work on that with 2 classes of 4 and 5-year-olds. Then they kinda add up to kindergarten. In

our kindergarden - uh, we have 2 kindergarten classes. 1, um, like first grade. Maybe it's 2 first grade, I'm not too sure. But we work on math skills the same as that you would in a public school. We work on reading skills, and I think today, um, most of the public schools are working on whole language. Well, that's our philosophy also. This is sort of where you're using reading, the language, and the writing skills and you're kind of merging them together. And this is, this I think is exciting because I can see where the kids are learning. They are not using only one skill here, but they're putting the skills together. The students here at ASD need to go on trips. That's another way that they learn. They get skills and experiences. Say, for, you know, if you're

talking about zoo animals: the little kids would go to the zoo. Once or twice a month, we take the students off campus - for a movie, visit a zoo, zoo, go to Wild River Country, and different kinds of field trips. We have 5 halls, different ones that they reside in. Every effort is made to maintain an atmosphere is like home living. We have 24-hour supervisory that we provide over the children to ensure safety and support, ?our discipline? pro-, uh, program. Our staff

also is required to have first aid and CPR training. It's a little different here at Lower Dorm than it is Middle Dorm or a House Dorm. The morning routine - most of the time, the house parents would come in to the rooms, individual rooms, turn on the lights and wake the children up. For an example, the 4 year old to, oh, around the 11 year old the supervisors will come in and help and assist in making their beds, getting dressed, and their morning routine before going to breakfast. We serve 3 meals a day. Also at night time, we provide snacks for the children. It's usually about an hour or so before they go to bed at night. Big percentage of the kids lover our cafeteria, our cooking, our kitchen. If we have a new student or maybe a 4 year old they

will become homesick, maybe depressed, They're away from their parents. Here, our staff will be mostly comfortable with them and get students back with them, other students back with the new kids, like a big brother or a little - or little, little sister, little brother for a week or 2 to make them feel more comfortable. I know that it takes time, but most of the time, our students really accept coming to school here as their second home. Any accidents or anyone gets hurt, then we call the infirmary and the infirmary will come down to the area that the injuries occurred in. ?There are? morning, lunchtime and evenings 4 o'clock meetings and 8:00 o'clock at

night. We send all of our students that are on medication at these particular times for medication, or the ones who are sick at any other time, sending them there also at regular times. It's really a wonderful infirmary. It's usually required for junior high and high school students to have study hour, for one hour. With help from the presidential supervisors, if necessary. Then, after 6:15, to around 9:00, in that period we have activities, different kinds of activities, which will be shown on a schedule. Example, On Mondays. Maybe it'll say "we'll go swimming" Tuesday maybe we'll go play basketball. Wednesday, maybe softball.

Let's go! Come on! Hit 'em up! Every Friday at 1 o'clock let's leave to go over various areas of the state take all the students home. I think it's wonderful because every You stay here all week. We're all ready for a bright and a change - change in activities, so the students really look forward to going home on Fridays to see their parents. They get to feel like they have parents at home, and involvement at home. But then Sunday afternoon time to get on that bus. They're ready to come back to ASD. I know if I was a parent of a 4 year old I would be ready for that child to come home on Friday, I think it would be very hard to leave your child, 4, 5 years old, here at ASD all week but the older students are also excited about Friday. It really gives all of us something to look forward to, to be motivated to finish and complete our work and be ready for our weekend and then come back and ready to

start to work on Mondays. [cheering and clapping] Extra curricular activities here at ASD are really special. They're They're about the same as other schools but we involve many of our former students who have graduated, I know we had homecoming recently. The Oklahoma School for the Deaf was here and our gym was full with people that wanted to come back and watch the basketball game and I think that says a lot for our school here. Let's do pink, let's do O. O. O. Lose the ball. O. Did you see that? O. O. We have had students who have graduated and gone on in ?play? the college games and our students become very, very motivated when you talk about basketball.

And I know our academic principal maybe would not want me to say this but we can use that for encouragement and our academic program to continue them to study and to work hard to get ready for graduation. APPLAUSE. Thank you very much. There was an additional special event during the 1994 homecoming. Yes, I heard that. Go ahead and make your son an Eagle Scout. APPLAUSE. Kelvin Jackson, an ASD senior, was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout. Kelvin has been a leader in other ASD activities. His scouting accomplishments underscore a highly successful and active scouting program at ASD. Like the nearby state capital, Arkansas

School for the Deaf belongs to all of Arkansas and ASD is always reaching beyond the boundaries of its campus. Parents can sit at home and, and ask questions, but if they came to visit, we have an open door. They can see what is happening. We want them to come and work with us, and that's the reason that, uh, we have started the COE process where, to get the parents to come here at the school and, if they can, PTCA has decided that we're going to have, a like Area Meetings, like say for In Conway, there may be one group where maybe five little, uh, cities come together and meet. Then in another area, maybe Federal, they have a different group and they'll meet and then we maybe have a telephone conference and they can talk about different things. The annual November Silent Sunday is emerging as an

institution in central Arkansas. As Director of Cairo we were looking at a number of different places that we might do a benefit dinner for Cairo's central Arkansas and been at rest for operators. Writers there are over 30 restaurants in central Arkansas that are now a member of Cairo. And in looking at different groups, organizations, that we might do something for, I came out here and talked to Susan Pack through another friend that I had worked with before at Mainstream Living and - and check in with her about the different things that they did here. I found that the number one contributor to their effort was their own staff. And once we found out that they were, believed in it enough, that they contributed more than anyone else. You know, that's pretty well I step right then. From Detroit down to Houston, and New York to LA. Well, there's pride [For Every American Heart] I am a sponsor of the FAJ

J Upbeat which is a group of High School students who go out, over the day and perform for groups such as Girls State banquets, we go to nursing homes, we go go to civic meetings here in Little Rock. And they really have a PR effect on ASD. Each year In my department, we have a fashion show which is sponsored by one of the community clubs here in town. And we get all the school involved in the fashion show and many, many come to me and volunteer to help. And this really motivates the students to work hard and do their best. "I feel Miss Pak, when I get to do it and they say if I kill it it's her fault. Teachers here do not just see the classroom and stop their day.

They continue it many, many times after school. You may see a teacher, for example, working in the flowerbed or cutting heads or doing something here on the grounds that helps make our school a beautiful place. Students also go beyond minimum requirements to help. This is our Paul Marche store. It's run by the students. We have merchandise that we make in - the graphic arts department makes notepads, carpentry makes, um, different things to sell. The students come in and run it. They write tickets. They count money. They make change. They price the merchandise and do all kinds of stuff like that. Every three years, we have a school trip. And we try to go to different places. And next year we're having another school trip. And, the money we make in here that the students are on, and we use that money to help go for the trip. Getting ready for a journey. It could be a metaphor for the ASD experience. Show me where? It begins with evaluation, determination of individual need.

It's an - it's an objective way to assess the function of the ear. 'Its just good.' It always involves moving toward self realisation. The main things we focus on with the Deaf-blind student are language, trying to increase a child's language so that they can express their wants and needs. To the greatest extent possible, the journey will lead toward professional and personal fulfillment. I've been here a year and a half now and I like working here. There's a lot of art to do and I really love it. Each student's journey is different. But it will be guided by a community of people with one message. Be the best you can. When I first started, I never dreamed that I would stay here for 26 years. But, after the first year I became so involved and loved the students so much. much. It's a very rewarding job. And it's just something to see everyone working towards the same thing. And the same thing

It's always the kids. Most of the time our students really except from school here is there.