Around MSD - Maryland School for the Deaf

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Quest and Columbia Campus Awarded Grant Nancy R. Downey, Assistant Principal, Columbia Campus, nancy.downey@msd.edu Last September, Tim McCarty, Quest: Arts for Everyone founder, and Nancy Downey, Assistant Principal of Elementary Department at the Columbia Campus, were notified that their grant request for funds to enhance literacy through drama was approved. The grant, totaling one million dollars over the next four years, was awarded through the Office of Innovation and Improvement within the United States Department of Education and will be administratively managed by Quest. The grant will be used to fund a project called TheatreBridge focusing on the use of visual theater to enhance literacy and theater skills of deaf and hard of hearing elementary and middle school students attending the Columbia Campus. Quest’s visual theater approach to learning reflects how deaf and hard of hearing students benefit from becoming actively and kinesthetically involved in learning. Visual arts support the use of communication skills, abstract concepts, and higher level thinking skills for students which are reflected in the state and national literacy standards. Students experiencing learning disabilities or behavioral and emotional issues benefit from Quest’s approach using active learning experiences. Following a comprehensive planning process that will include determining research methodology, the project will run summer institutes for teachers to explore and discuss 4 THE MARYLAND BULLETIN FALL 2010 how to best integrate theater skills and activities into their lesson plans. Stipends will be provided to teachers to record these lesson plans and post them to the Quest website as an aid to fellow educators, artists, or parents interested in utilizing these techniques. Starting in the fall of 2010, Quest staff will begin working with Columbia Campus parents receiving services through the Family Education/Early Childhood Department to enhance communication with their children through use of visual theater activities. Quest will also hold community outreach activities in various regions around Maryland to provide deaf and hard of hearing students and their families access to visual theater resources close to their homes. During the summer of 2011, current Columbia Campus elementary age students will be able to attend a one week workshop on the Columbia Campus. Gallaudet University’s College of Professional Services and Outreach (CPSO) will coordinate a two week residential camp on Gallaudet’s campus (fully funded by grant money) for middle school age students. Both of these student activities will be held each summer through 2013. Additionally, Quest and Columbia staff will provide three days of program sessions for adults during the 2010 American Society for Deaf Children (ASCD) conference in addition to familyoriented evening programming and will lead a half-day forum on theater and literacy for deaf and hard of hearing children. Erica Siegel, Education/Outreach Coordinator for Quest, will work with Ms. Downey in the Elementary Department, Sue Maginnis in the Middle School, and Stella Antonio-Conley to implement the project campus-wide and will frequently be on the Columbia Campus. In addition, Ms. Siegel and Ms. Antonio- Conley will collaborate to compile an encyclopedia of theater games. To determine the overall effectiveness of the program, Linda Delk of Gallaudet University will lead the research component to gather information on changes in student literacy. This exciting opportunity is a perfect follow up to the success experienced by Columbia’s Middle School students in winning Baltimore’s Center Stage sponsored Young Playwright’s Festival in 2009 and 2010. Everyone involved with the project is eagerly looking forward to providing a unique and innovative way to improve student literacy. MB
The Special Education Citizen’s Advisory Committee Susanna Oliver, Compliance Officer and SECAC Chairperson, susanna.oliver@msd.edu The Maryland School for the Deaf started off the 2010-2011 school year with a new look to the old Quality Assurance and Monitoring committee. There are always changes in membership, but this year brings a change in the title as well. QAM is now the Special Education Citizens Advisory Committee (SECAC). The committee comprises community partners, MSD administrators, a parent representative, service providers, and a representative from the MSD Family Education/Early Childhood Department. SECAC provides feedback and input to the MSD instructional program regarding the needs of deaf and hard of hearing students and families in the Frederick and Columbia Campus com- munities. The committee assists in the identification of educational priorities and goals that are designed to improve student achievement and outcomes. It functions in an advisory capacity by providing MSD with insight into any community concerns that are related to the formulation or development of plans to improve educational services to students here at MSD. Meetings are held seven times per year at alternating campuses and are chaired by the MSD Compliance Officer. The new title, SECAC, opens a positive, additional possibility for funding. The Maryland State Department of Education allocates $2,500.00 of IDEA, Part B, state discretionary funds per year to support these local committees for educationally related expenses needed to support their local school. This year, MSD’s SECAC will be looking into accessing these funds. Because the committee has a new title with some new emphasis, a few changes will be made this year: SECAC will develop policies and procedures as part of the state requirement to become eligible for IDEA funds and will contribute suggestions and feedback as MSD moves through the renewal of its school accreditation. The continuous improvement of student performance is a top priority at MSD. SECAC is a proud part of the support system that helps assure that there are quality educational services offered at MSD. MB COMMITTEE MEMBERS—TOP Mary Dudderar, Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS) Regional Director; Christopher Kaftan, Director of Curriculum & Instruction; Nan Cronk-Walker, Director of IEP Support and Development BOTTOM Susanna Oliver, Compliance Officer and SECAC Chairperson; Erin Buck, Outreach Coordinator; Cheri Dowling, Partners for Success Parent Coordinator; Maryann Swann, Director of Family Education and Early Childhood Department; John Snavlin, Assistant Superintendent/Principal of the Columbia Campus WWW.MSD.EDU 5
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