Deaf Family Literacy Academy and Verizon Partner to Bring Smart Technology to Pinellas County Families
~ State of the art equipment unveiled on Family Literacy Day; to benefit families of deaf and hard-of-hearing children~
Palm Harbor, FL – Deaf and hard of hearing children and their parents in Pinellas County were the guests of honor today at a community event to unveil state-of-the-art technology that will enhance their ability to communicate and learn together. The Deaf Family Literacy Academy today hosted area families and local leaders to showcase the new technology, provided through a grant from the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon.
“We are thrilled to offer our families this state of the art technology that will help deaf and hard of hearing children perform successfully in the classroom and later in life,” said Rosa Rodriguez, Deaf Literacy Coordinator. “We know that the children enrolled in this academy have unique needs that can be better met by this hands-on, visually stimulating equipment. We are grateful for all of our partners, especially Verizon. Kids, parents, brothers and sisters are all benefiting and forming deeper bonds thanks to this wonderful gift.”
The unveiling of the technology was part of a National Family Literacy Day recognition event. Dozens of local deaf and hard of hearing preschoolers, deaf parents with hearing children, and hearing parents who have deaf children and their family members are enrolled in the local Deaf Family Literacy program, in partnership with Volunteer USA Foundation and the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative (PPLC). The equipment includes an amplified sound field system and a smart board system which will boost the ability of students to communicate and learn.
“Using technology to increase educational opportunities is a key focus of Verizon,” said Julie Smith, Verizon vice president of external affairs, southeast region. “We are proud to partner with the Deaf Family Literacy Academy on this valuable program and support the children of Pinellas County.”
The preschoolers enjoyed a hands-on demonstration including a treasure hunt themed story and game activities using the new equipment. Family members were joined at today’s unveiling event by Verizon representative Julie Smith, Volunteer USA president Liza McFadden, PPLC board member Sarah Haynes, Randy Campbell with St. Alfred's Episcopal Church and other community leaders.
Classes are provided at the St. Alfred's Episcopal Church preschool, which serves as an inclusion classroom with trained teachers who help the deaf and hard of hearing children excel. The Deaf Family Literacy Academy employs deaf adults who serve as mentors to families with deaf and hard of hearing children. The mentors work with the children in a classroom setting at the preschool in addition to visiting the families’ homes for two hours each week.
The Deaf Family Literacy Academy serves 50 families in Pinellas and Broward counties. The accomplishments to date include:
- Over the course of a year, 90 percent of the preschool children in the class improved their score on the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory. Most children improved their expressive vocabulary by 200-500 words or signs.
- All parents in the program improved communication with their children over the course of the academic year.
- 90 percent of parents improved their expressive and receptive American Sign Language skills.
- Over 40 percent of families have obtained deafness-related resources for their children such as closed captioning on the television, text telephones and deafness-related books and resources from the library.
- Working families have gained an affordable, reliable source of childcare designed to meet the special needs of their children.
- 83 percent of the children improved visual and listening comprehension skills
- 94 percent of the families read to their child several times a week; an increase of 24 percent from the beginning of the program
- 88 percent of parents/caretakers increased their knowledge of literacy strategies. Only percent of parents knew any strategies before participating in the program.
- 80 percent of children showed increased interest in sharing books with family members.
The Deaf Family Literacy Academy is a program of Volunteer USA Foundation. For more information, visit www.volunteerusafoundation.org.
The Verizon Foundation supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its free educational Web site, Thinkfinity.org, and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence. In 2008, the Verizon Foundation awarded more than $68 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad. It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in an additional $26 million in combined contributions to nonprofits. Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation’s largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 3 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.
|
PALM HARBOR — Eighteen-month-old Katie Kleinsorge sat in her mother's lap Monday morning as the storytelling began.
A teacher at St. Alfred's Episcopal Church narrated How I Became a Pirate. A woman gestured "eye patch" in sign language. Katie and the other children followed the picture book with their eyes. Some children seemed to listen.
Story time for the hearing-impaired children of the church's Noah's Ark classes was once one-on-one — teachers stood closely and let children focus on their lips and voices.
Newly installed technology, paid for by a Verizon Foundation grant and first shown to the children Monday, changes that, said Noah's Ark Academy director Diane Berset.
A sound field system isolates the voice from a teacher's microphone and amplifies it throughout the room, making it easier for the hard-of-hearing to comprehend speech. And a touch-screen SMART Board allows the deaf and other students to focus on colors, pictures and visuals to help with their early education.
The devices are simple, but they work, said Randy Campbell, president of the hearing loss support group Hear We Are. His 21-month-old son, Aiden, who has a cochlear implant in his right ear, sat through two stories without losing his concentration to some nearby toys.
Noah's Ark's "Parents' Morning Out" program is the only one in Pinellas County to provide special education for hearing-impaired toddlers, said parent and Hear We Are member Andrea Szenderski. Children 3 and older can enroll at Cross Bayou Elementary School in Pinellas Park, which has curriculum for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, but toddlers 2 and younger need special help in their formative years.
Katie is the newest child to join the program. Abandoned at birth, she spent her first 15 months in a Russian orphanage before being adopted by Tricia Kleinsorge. Katie wears hearing aids — she can hear around 80 decibels, the equivalent of loud traffic outside her home — as Kleinsorge awaits insurance approval for cochlear implants.
The pirate story was one of Katie's first. Kleinsorge said she's learning to get used to new ways of communication. Sign language will come next.
"I had to teach her 'hug,' 'kiss,' 'love.' … Now she 'hugs' me, 'hugs' the dog; she 'hugs' everybody," Kleinsorge said. "It'll just be like a second language."