NORTHWEST SCHOOL FOR DEAF AND HARD-OF_HEARING CHILDREN
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Mission Statement
Using Signing Exact English (S.E.E.) and oral communication we prepare deaf and hard-of-hearing students to be self-confident, articulate and academically competitive learners and contributing community members.
About This Cause
Northwest School for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children (NWSDHH) based in Shoreline, WA opened its doors in 1982. Our mission is dedicated to using Signing Exact English (S.E.E.) and oral communication to prepare deaf and hard-of-hearing students become self-confident, articulate and academically competitive learners and contributing community members. From the beginning we focused on three outcomes: grade level achievement, English proficiency, and oral communication and listening skills. In almost 35 years of operations, a savvy Board of Directors, long-term staff, parents and volunteers have always been able to secure the needed resources to ensure that the school is able to deliver the quality education and support our students and their families deserve. These students and their families are our greatest asset and are served on our current campus from Preschool through Eighth Grade and in their local schools through contracts with school districts in the Greater Puget Sound Region. A large number of deaf students, graduating from other deaf programs, graduate high school at a fourth-grade reading level and sixth-grade level in math. Our goal has been and continues to be grade level achievement for all our students. Typically developing deaf children at NWSDHH are achieving at or above grade level, but even our students with additional disabilities (mentioned above) are pushed to achieve as high an academic standard as their abilities allow. Our success is reflected in the fact that most of our graduates go on to mainstream academic classes in high school and on to success in higher education at schools such as the University of Washington, Boston University, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Rochester Institute of Technology, Gallaudet University and many other prestigious colleges and universities across the country. While many mainstream schools have Special Education programs, these programs are seldom tailored for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Multiple factors need to be considered when educating deaf children: 1. Isolation While there is no evidence that students are rejected in the mainstream environment, research shows that deaf pupils were significantly more likely to be neglected by their peers and less likely to have a friend in the classroom, which can impact social adaptation and long-term academic performance. This is in part because many deaf students in mainstream classrooms must rely and focus on interpreters, which limits interaction with both the teacher and other students. NWSDHH’s students and alumni consistently express joy at being in a school where they have many close friends and, while they do have hearing friends and well developed social skills they use with hearing children, the friendships they forge at NWSDHH tend to be lifelong. 2. Graduation Rates Research conducted in 2012 and published in The American Annals of the Deaf showed that 100% of NWSDHH students graduate from high school, compared to only 93% of deaf and hard-of-hearing students nationally. Only 76% of WA state deaf and hard-of-hearing students graduate from high school. 3. Post-Secondary Education Almost 9 in every 10 NWSDHH alumni go on to study at a post-secondary level, with 67% completing their degree. Nationally, less than 7 in 10 deaf or hard-of-hearing students enroll in a post-secondary program, and of those less than 30% graduate. Our educational model allows us to enroll children with no speech and/or signing ability, even if their native tongue is something other than English, and very quickly help the child develop Signing Exact English (S.E.E.) proficiency, speech, and the listening skills necessary for literacy and successful academic performance.