ASL ADVIORY BOARD MEETING

    Everett Public Schools

    JUNE 4, 2007

     


    ATTENDEES: Ellen Carpentier, Meredith Mc Gahan, Susan Tapert, Nick Le Fors, Peggy Lee Le Fors and Linda Bontrager.

     

    6:00 pm-

    Meeting was called to order. We were welcomed to Meredith’s classroom at Jackson High School.

     

    6:15 to 7:15 pm-

    The board read through the proposed Two Year Plan.

     

    Linda suggested adding additional occupations to the Career Component under the Evidence of Impact column that could require second language fluency in ASL. We all made suggestions and decided to add Teacher of the Deaf, ASL Teacher, ASL Interpreter, Para Professional, Councilor for the Deaf, Rehabilitation Therapist, Speech Therapist, Nurse, Guide Dog Trainer, Group/Nursing Home Care Givers among others.

     

    Peggy Lee suggested adding more colleges and universities that have ASL offered as a foreign language for a Two year Associate degree or a BA. Western Oregon University has a BA in ASL. The UW recently hired Lance Forsche, a former Deaf ASL teacher in Puyallup, to their faculty to beginning teaching ASL on their campus. We discussed how this might impact Seattle Central Community College’s ASL and Interpreter Training Program in the future. Previously students from UW could take ASL at SCCC to earn a foreign language credit.

     

    Linda was curios as to why there is a focus on WASL requirements for ASL students and how that could be integrated into the ASL curriculum. Meredith and Ellen explained that supporting the WASL through Deaf Cultural Essays enhances the ASL curriculum by encouraging students to practice the skills need to pass the test. Since culture is an intricate part of learning about a new language, ASL students will use their DCE to show comprehension and understanding of issues outside of their life experiences.

     

    7:20 Due to time constraints the board agreed to review the Two Year Plan and email Ellen with any comments, suggestions or modifications that they felt should be added or deleted by June 11th.

     

    7:25 The present board members all agreed that they would be interested in continuing as ASL Advisory Board members for next year. Several board members are trying to recruit new members for the board that would represent parents of deaf children, Sign Language Interpreters, and additional members of the Deaf community. They will inform Ellen when they have confirmed new board members.

     

    7:30 Adjournment

     

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