Clerc Center Seeks Participants for Stakeholder Meetings

From: Gallaudet - Jul 21, 2006

For Immediate Release

Contact: Susan Flanigan
Telephone: 202-651-5340 (Voice/TTY)
E-mail: Susan.Flanigan@gallaudet.edu


Clerc Center Seeks Educators and Parents for
Stakeholder Input Meetings

November 6-7, 2006, Washington, D.C.
Summer 2007, Massachusetts

How can the Clerc Center support your work to provide the best possible education to deaf and hard of hearing students?

Family members, educators, and administrators—your feedback is critical! The Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University is pleased to announce a series of stakeholder meetings to allow us to learn from you, our constituents. These meetings will provide an opportunity for you to share feedback on current initiatives as well as help us chart the way for future work. Please join us. Complete an interest form today!

The Clerc Center’s mission is to develop initiatives to support your work with deaf and hard of hearing students in schools and homes throughout the country. Staying in touch with the changing environment is critical. Through your experiences you have a unique perspective. We must work to raise student achievement levels and ensure deaf students are achieving at or above the levels of their hearing peers, especially in the era of No Child Left Behind.

We all know the challenges facing our students. Among them:

* Early access to language: A strong language base is the foundation of education.

* Families’ access to information: Informed families are able to make the best decisions for their deaf or hard of hearing children. A strong collaboration between the home and school is critical for children to succeed.

* Skills to become independent adults: Deaf and hard of hearing students need the skills to become independent adults, as well as a comprehensive understanding of their rights and how to advocate for themselves, both in school and at work.

At the Clerc Center, we aim to address these challenges. Now we need your feedback! Do our products, materials, and training programs support your work in your classrooms or in your homes? Will our new product ideas address the challenges you encounter in your classrooms every day? What ideas do you have for products that will address these needs and raise student achievement for deaf and hard of hearing students?

If you are interested in participating in a stakeholder meeting, please complete a participant interest form at:
http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/stakeholder/form.asp

Travel and accommodation expenses will be covered by the Clerc Center. The deadline for receiving interest forms for the November meeting is September 7.

Spread the word! If you know other professionals in the field or family members who could provide insightful feedback, please share this information with them and encourage them to complete an interest form. Participants will be selected to ensure a balance of representation from our constituent groups at each stakeholder meeting. There is a limit of 20 participants per stakeholder meeting.

The Clerc Center at Gallaudet University comprises two federally mandated demonstration schools for students who are deaf and hard of hearing. It provides training and technical assistance to families, professionals, and programs; identifies, develops, evaluates, and disseminates innovative curricula and materials; and improves education for deaf and hard of hearing students throughout the United States in collaboration with schools and programs from around the country.