The Board feels we should have town meetings like this regularly, probably twice a year, in fall and in spring.
Role of the Board:
* non-government, corporate board, different from public school Board of Education *
* membership *
- variety of expertise (fundraising, strategic planning, legal, education, deaf education, government, audiology, etc.)
- 3 deaf members, 1 hard-of-hearing member
- members selected by committee when there's a vacancy; look for people w/ necessary background; currently have vacancies and are looking at deaf individuals and/or parents
* access to board: wide open to speaking with anyone, chatting, email, phone -- if you can't find it, school will give you the info *
* function *
- hire CEO, who handles day-to-day operations and is accountable to board (title "CEO" is in school bylaws)
- review and establish policies
- financial oversight
- generate funds not covered by NYS (trip to Italy, Space Camp, etc.)
- provide visibility and support for RSD (example: member of board is architect and came to help with recent accident causing damage to building)
Edited by: FractalWiz at: 3/23/06 10:19 pm
Section 2a: Dr. Harold Mowl: Student Safety
(Chart was shown illustrating various ways student safety is addressed:
Code of Student Conduct
Policies and Procedures
Staff Training
Natural Helpers
Communication with Parents
Mental Health Team)
Staff Training
Staff have lots of training, like for child abuse reporting (state mandated), Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI), CHAMPs (how teachers can help students learn well)
Natural Helpers
A grades 6-12 program of peer helpers; if students are afraid to tell an adult, they can tell a peer.
Group of students trained at a camp. This is a widespread program, also used by Rush-Henrietta School District, for example.
Communication with Parents
When there are problems, we try to inform parents right away.
Mental Health Team
A team of various individuals is there to help students.
Action Plans:
Due to incident with former teacher last fall, a new policy on staff fraternization with students is being developed
Parent Handbook will be developed outlining general information and procedures for concerns or complaints; some parents will review; handbook ready by June 1
Meanwhile, contact Dr. Mowl with questions or concerns.
Also, all are welcome to come to a workshop on bullying this Saturday, put on by Outreach committee. (All have received flyer for this.)
Edited by: FractalWiz at: 3/23/06 10:19 pm
Section 2b: Dr. Harold Mowl: Education
(Reviewed notes from 1st town meeting.)
Communication Philosophy
We have a very diverse student population, from ages 0 - 21, 75% from hearing parents, ~70% use hearing aids or C.I.
Our staff work very hard to bring best possible program to all students.
(Communication philosophy statement is on website.)
Components of philosophy:
support each student to reach maximum potential
students have the right to understand and be understood
sign language is to be used at all times, except in particular situations (like speech class)
NYS requires mastery of English and other NYS required content areas
2 languages: English and ASL
cultural diversity
Quote from Dr. Mowl: "We want our students to become bilingual. That's the goal. We want staff to be good role models in both languages."
Three Areas of Language Development
Written English
- Wide variety of student abilities and needs
- Some come with no language, some with ASL, some from mainstream, some families come from other countries and are new to English and ASL, etc.
- Efforts being made:
teacher training and support
careful attention to NYS Standards
use of technology (computers all over the place, SMARTboards, etc.)
bridging between ASL and English languages
Spoken English
Speech/Communication Program:
- varied approach depends on student's abilities and needs
- goal to help students be able to interact with both deaf and hearing individuals comfortably
- some want work on speech/listening; some need to know how to communicate effectively with others (general); some need higher-level practice, public "speaking", etc.
- various activities and projects -- make it FUN
- goal = interact comfortably in BOTH worlds
ASL Development
- wide variety of student needs and abilities (again)
- contributions by deaf staff (chart to follow)
- efforts being made:
staff training and support
bridging between ASL and English
student activities related to ASL literacy and Deaf Culture
- ASL is a full language -- ASL is used here -- ASL has variations (continuum) from pure ASL to signed English
- depends on students' needs
- ASL is valued and respected here
- We want to help students develop good ASL skills
- Staff works hard on how to assess language growth -- deaf families, hearing families who use ASL, hearing families who don't use ASL -- how do we measure language growth in these children?
- Early language growth is very important
- We know ASL can be a first language for some children
- All of deaf education struggles with how to measure language gorwn -- it would be nice to have all the answers
Chart: Contributions by Deaf Staff
family services representative
community relations
maintenance & housekeeping (22%)
deaf teachers (20%)
coaches/advisors/tutors
residential/recreation staff (60%)
administration (50%)
TAs (78%)
RASA (after school tutoring) coordinator
counselors (100%)
librarian and library aide
This only covers deaf staff -- does not include hearing staff who are fluent in ASL, CODAs, etc.
Concern about only 20% of teachers are deaf (Mowl: "That's my concern, too." )
**New York State REQUIRES Teacher Certification**
complete college program as required
pass Liberal Arts and Sciences Test
pass Assessment of Teaching Skills - Written exam
pass Content Specialty Test
have experience teaching
I am certified, administrators are certified, our TAs are certified, and our teachers MUST be certified -- deaf/hearing doesn't matter, must meet the requirements to certify.
At 1st meeting, some wondered, can deaf people pass the tests? Are they fair to deaf people? Should RSD advocate for deaf people in certification? Should requirements be lowered for deaf people? (Some say yes, some say no)
RSD requires achievement of expected SCPI level for all staff. (Briefly explains SCPI) Teachers are required to have Advanced level. Some staff with less contact with students may have lower requirement.
Action Items: Establish ad-hoc board committee to study current Communication Philosophy and recommend changes to Mowl and Board by September 1st.
Mowl will be convener
representives from directors, parents, administration, faculty/staff, students, community members, and educational professionals
Section 2c: Dr. Harold Mowl: Communication(Review issues from 1st meeting.)
Issues separate to two groups: Internal Communication (anything involving current school community) and External Communication (i.e. deaf community, lobby to eliminate 80dB requirement, alumni, etc.)
Action Plan: Establish Advisory Committee for Effective Communication
Dr. Mowl will be convener
represented by Board of Directors, administration, UFA (teacher's union), Staff Association, PSA, Alumni, and Jr. NAD
meet quarterly and recommend strategies for improving communication
Section 3: Dr. Harold Mowl: Student Accomplishments** Northeast Academic Bowl Competition -- RSD won! **
Student team is recognized, along with two coaches. On to National!
** Varsity Soccer **
16-1 record for season
ESDAA Northern Regional Tournament Champions
Frat Team of the Year
Frat National Player of the Year
** Girls' Basketball **
13-4 season record
First-ever ESDAA Tournament Champions
** Optimist Club **
Competition next week, March 29 (public "speaking")
Theme: "My Future is Bright Because ..."
Winner to district competition May 6
$1500 scholarship
Part of speech/communication program
** Trip to Italy **
19 students, 4 chaperones, April 10-20
Paid for by parents, fundraising, and RSD
Evening classes have been held to prepare, re: Italian culture, etc.
Will meet deaf hotel general manager & get together with deaf students in Italy
Section 4: Q & A #1Mother of RSD Student:
Re: assessment of language skills -- concern is who is doing assessment of ASL development with no ASL specialist?
- is it now the role of classroom teachers? they have so much already
- how many of the 75% hearing families CAN give great language at home? (even those who love ASL and really give their all)
- 80% of the teachers are hearing, they have ASL skills but not culture -- an ASL specialist would have Deaf culture as well
Dr. Mowl:
Excellent points and excellent questions
- We need to develop an assessment program, then decide who will do it.
- Workload of teachers is always a concern -- they develop IEPs, lesson plans, study curriculum, make modifications for students, give tests required by state and NCLB, keep up with technology, etc.
- Need to plan WHO will assess carefully
- parent mentioned the percentages -- those are the variables we have to work with -- how does it all fit together?
Section 4: Q & A #2Staff/Alumnus:
- mentioned student accomplishments, need more P.R. for the accomplishments of students, newspaper, etc.
- need stronger way to pat students on the back and recognize accomplishments
Dr. Mowl:
- There is never enough P.R.
- Recently Greg ______ came to talk with Academic Bowl team, hopefully will see something in the paper
- We try to put everything up on the website, hopefully people will read
- Have the Deaf Rochester News
- Agree we need more, want general public to know about us and our students
Section 4: Q & A #3Alumnus:
- mail carrier, lots of stops, sees lots of RSD mail (smile)
- what kind of surveys? want to know more about that
Dr. Mowl:
- like customer satisfaction surveys - precise questions not developed yet, will be - will probably make easier and do online
- our goal w/ survey is to bring together feedback from all sorts of groups of people, so the more responses, the better
Section 4: Q & A #4Woman (parent?):
- question about safety - parental involvement with policies and procedures
- include something about outside involvement?
- example, if try to resolve a concern and not satisfied -- will have outside part involved to resolve?
Dr. Mowl:
- important question
- many situations can be resolved in-school
- IF something comes up that isn't ... if family's not satisfied, call CSE (Committee on Special Education) -- that team helps come to agreement, happens once in a while
- that can be part of the handbook
- that's really important, I need to think about it more, thanks
David Johnston (Acting PSA Pres.):
- have overlooked some IEP issues
- know we have CSE, go to see what happens, express concerns
- suppose student uses ASL -- IEP has goals for speech -- can get rid of those and have goals for ASL instead?
- lots of students struggle with basic communication
- people at CSE have hard time agreeing
- parents have right to help in developing goal? - would like to be involved more BEFORE the meeting
Dr. Mowl:
- certain things about IEP required by law
- parents have right to have representative/advocate - someone experienced/knowledgeable in education/deaf ed
- lots of different people on team -- chair has a difficult job listening to different perspectives, law, etc.
- (1st meeting) some parents felt they don't know enough about rights with IEP - can be part of communication/PSA -- plan workshop for parents on IEP?
- not an easy question to answer, but important
- maybe PSA can support parents in this area
Question #1 mother responding to David's question:
- when we go as parents, we're PART of CSE team, not observers, it's our legal right to APPROVE of the IEP
- re: goals, it's our right to contact teachers and ask to be part of goal planning
- Dr. Mowl is right -- can request parent rep -- supposed to be one -- contact Advocacy Center, someone who knows Deaf Ed
- can meet with teachers, your right to, I have every year and teachers have always been open to working with me
Section 4: Q & A #6Father of RSD student:
- last fall to now, wife and I felt need to eliminate speech goal for our child -- other emphasis on language development more important - can still support learning English in other ways
- feel like a lot of time on audiology & speech
- meeting last fall not successful, meeting with Dr. Mowl not successful, feel like stuck in loop
- met with attorney to discuss rights, lawyer said we have right to eliminate speech goal, can replace with ASL goal
- lawyer not to CSE meeting -- thought okay to handle ourselves
- 3 RSD people went round and round with us
- argued about this for 2 hours, finally agreed and changed to language goal instead of speech
- my question and concern: parents need to know rights, do they have to go through all this to accomplish their goals?
Dr. Mowl:
- your family situation is very personal - want to let you know we try our best to do best for all students
- sometimes students or parents don't agree with us
- deep-down, we want to do best - you and I can talk more another time
- glad you went through CSE process, convinced people to make changes
Another man (father?):
- you say his situation is personal, but all students have different skills, levels, etc. -- I want to say his comment DOES apply to all
Section 4: Q & A #7Father of RSD student:
- has dorm student, so some concerns about dorm life - have talked to Dr. Mowl before, personal but applies to all
- mentioned cultural diversity - would like to see deaf individuals with great careers come to RSD, show students what they can do
- feel like RSD is practically on an island with no contact with this great deaf community in this city
- talked about this last year, nothing happened
- blog issue: was banned then not -- understand frustration with unsigned comments, some unkind -- should keep it going, though - I encourage everyone to sign their name, say whatever you want, but sign your name so people can respond and refer back to it
- board access: we have the names, but no contact information
- communication: example - my student received 3 warnings, then a punishment -- parents need to know after FIRST warning (talked about this before, nothing happened)
- We've listened to Dr. Mowl talk for 45 minutes, then have only 15 minutes to respond. (Ed: I was watching the clock, it was a little over half an hour. But point taken.)
- Parent handbook: maybe should have PSA select parents to review handbook, not administration select -- if administration selects, some concerns might not be represented
(Dr. Mowl does not respond - time has run out)
Steven Morse:
Closes, thanking again
Hope these action plans will improve communication, etc.
Need to try, hope will be successful
Contact info will be posted on website -- until then, main office will have phone number and email
Accessibility of ASL and its Variations
First, I want to congratulate those who pressed for the townhall meetings! The progress has been evidently successful! This reflects well on RSD!
I'd like to address a few concerns:
In Section 2b, a component of the communication philosophy entails that ASL be used at all times on campus *except in speech class*. Why? How can a Speech teacher engage a successful session if the student does not have the full access to what the teacher is saying? Why isn't ASL and Spoken English being employed here? The teacher could speak then sign then speak again (not simultaneously) so the student could follow and participate completely?
Also under Section 2b, ASL is said to have variations, a continuum from "pure ASL to signed English." Signed English is not a language, although, signers might sign in a seemingly English order (fingerspelling the articles such as the, or, is, was rather than signing them out) in a particular situation. This is not to be abused- this is precisely the reason why ASL Specialist is necessary. You don't abuse English by deciding that its OK to write in a bad grammar (or "broken English" following the ASL grammatical order)- the same respect must be afforded to ASL.
Also, I noticed that Dr. Mowl avoided answering the question regarding the need for an ASL Specialist. I think that needs to be addressed as well.
Let me clarify the point about using ASL at all times, except in speech class. What was meant by that was exactly what you said -- there may be moments in speech class where the teacher speaks without signing, precisely because the student is practicing speechreading. But for instructions, feedback, etc. during the class, naturally the teacher would sign to the student.
I believe Dr. Mowl's point was that that should be the only time a teacher speaks without signing in the school.
(This fails to address the issue of using SimCom, but that's another story...)
Re: Accessibility of ASL and its Variations
No, the issues were sort of "a mile wide and an inch deep". With such a wide variety on the table, I think Dr. Mowl did the best thing by deciding to set up a few new committees that will be more focused on particular areas.
Hopefully the committee that reviews the communication philosophy will address the SimCom issue directly. No one ever actually mentioned it at the meetings. Although, it seems to be coming up a little on the blog now.
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