School For Deaf Expands Options

From: Hartford Courant, United States - Oct 7, 2005

New Print Shop, Technology Education Center Opened On Campus

By CAROLYN MOREAU
Courant Staff Writer

October 7 2005

WEST HARTFORD -- School got a lot better this year for Jon Cybulski, a 14-year-old student at the American School for the Deaf who wants to become a web designer.

Gone are the cramped old classrooms in which Jon, a deaf student from Bristol, once learned the basics of graphic design. He now receives lessons in a computer lab outfitted with the latest equipment. His teacher, Bob Nitko, uses an electronic blackboard called a Smartboard to project images of projects for students to work on, which leaves the teacher's hands free to communicate in American Sign Language.

If Jon later becomes interested in printing, the school also has a new digital print shop called PrintWorks to teach students how to design, print and bind color brochures and reports. The school will offer low-cost printing services to nonprofit organizations to help offset the cost of running the program.

"I am so proud of these computers," Jon said Thursday in sign language as he paused from using a program called Fireworks to design a logo. "It is beautiful. Everything is improved. It is a huge difference from last year."

The new print shop and technology education center are on the school's North Main Street campus in a remodeled building where the old print shop and classrooms used to be.

Printing has been an traditional occupation for deaf people, said Marilyn Rettig, director of institutional advancement at the school.

As a result, the American School for the Deaf established a print shop in 1923 to prepare students for the workforce. But by the 21st century, the school found itself poorly equipped to teach printing and graphic design in the digital age, Rettig said.

The school has 240 students, most of whom are pursuing vocational education, school officials say.

The new facility, which had its grand opening Thursday evening, cost about $350,000 to build. The funding came mostly from state grants and donations from Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority, Comcast, the Farmington Savings Bank, and the Rotary Club of West Hartford.

School officials say all students in grades 6-12 will use the technology center through a combination of course offerings.

Copyright 2005, Hartford Courant