[Nfbwv-talk] WVSDB Article

[Smyth, Charlene R]

Thank you to Karen Swauger for sharing this.

Charlene

Article from Hampshire Review School Section 2016 08 17
Date:
Wed, 17 Aug 2016 17:24:13 -0400 (EDT)

Opportunity and excitement at WVSDB. ROMNEY  When students arrive back at
the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind next Sunday to start
the new school year, they will do so among many big changes and big ideas
for both the present and the future.

Staff got back to work on Monday, with a weeklong teacher in-service
training.

"Our theme is literacy across the curriculum," said WVSDB Superintendent
Martin Keller. "I feel that it's very important to continue to emphasize
that in all classes. It's important for future success.

Focusing on literacy is just one of the core ideas being pushed in the
classrooms at WVSDB, and with larger changes hopefully on the horizon, both
the big and small adjustments are going to add up to a successful year.

Changes this year include a National Honor Society for both schools, with
the 1st-ever induction ceremony being planned for November.

Oct. 1 will be homecoming, which will include a soccer tournament as well
as a dedication ceremony. The building housing the School for the Deaf has
never been named. Consolidation of the elementary and secondary schools for
the deaf occurred during the summer months to mirror the school set-up at
the School for the Blind. The building will be named the Sevingy Academic
Building in memory of longtime teacher, coach and mentor Pierre Sevigny.

Also during the month of October, WVSDB will host a regional robotics
competition. FIRST LEGO League includes both a junior team at the
elementary level and the one at the middle-school level. The program  for
blind students  also includes what Keller calls an "exciting high-level
design" competition team known as VEX.

Staff changes Keller highlighted were the addition of Michael Coleman
most recently the Special Education Director of Hampshire County Schools
returning to be principal, and Kurt Metz as the new school
neuropsychologist.

"We are very excited to have Mike on the team, and Kurt is a tremendous
addition," Keller said. "Dr. Metz will work closely with both deaf and
blind students and is also serving as director of the Center for Excellence
in Teaching and Learning," which is a new diagnostic center in the former
elementary building.

"We are ready to set that up and we will be up and running in about 2
weeks," Keller said.

In addition to boosting the strength of the curriculum and focused staff
development, recruitment of new students remains a focal point. While the
school lost 14 seniors to graduation last year, they have added 10 new
students, keeping the enrollment right around 130 students.

"I'm doing a big push to bring new students in," Keller said. That
includes a trip to the West Virginia State Fair to meet prospective parents
and children. Sometimes, Keller said, it can be a tough sell, but thanks to
technology it is a bit easier than it used to be.

"Some parents want to keep their children home," he said. "It can be 3 or
4 hours away for some families. I try and explain that with today's
technology the distance can be easier.

"We can use videophones and parents can communicate and see their
children every day. Facetime and regular phone calls are also possible.
Technology is able to lessen the pain for parents by providing them the
opportunity of being able to see and communicate with their children every
day.

Balancing the responsibility of working with parents and students on an
individual and classroom basis is a stark contrast to trying to improve the
facility on a grand scale, but those duties go hand in hand for Keller as
he continues to improve the experience at WVSDB. Along with his Executive
Assistant, Dr. Ann Getty, Keller has made a push to get the campus prepared
for the larger changes that may come when and if the $15 million funding
the school has requested is approved by the State Legislature.

"The State Board told me to keep pressing on," Keller said. "This fall I
want to designate a day for the school to host the Legislature to orient
them to the school and its services. I want them to meet the students and
have them stay locally," he said.

Some other longer-term goals that will get off the ground this fall
include:

Working with Michelle Burnett and Eileen Johnson in the county Economic
Development Office to evaluate the possibility of establishing a childcare
center in the former elementary school building.

"The vision is to provide a program that would offer a degree in early
childhood education," Keller said. "The students taking classes would then
have exposure to the children from the get-go. It would essentially be a
childcare training hub.

Those children would be exposed to sign language as well, which would be
a huge advantage for them. The center would also serve as a one-stop place
for diagnostic testing for both blind and deaf children, working closely
with the State Department of Education.

The school has been connected to a green specialist that will evaluate
how to improve energy use at the school. An environmental consultant is
also going to be doing a study as one of the preliminary measures of the
hopeful extensive renovations that could be in store for the school.

Hazardous materials in the buildings and possible underground issues will
be identified; both services are being completed at no cost to the school.
"It's huge," Keller said. "We were told if we were going to hire someone it
would cost over $100,000. It's pretty exciting.

On Sept. 30, the school will submit a proposal for Innovative Readiness
Training through the United States Military. A list was made of the needs
of the school building by building, which will be submitted to the Pentagon
for review and the possibility of assignment.

"When the troops are deployed they are doing so much more than fighting
wars," Keller said. "They focus on school-building and repairs such as
HVAC, plumbing and electrical work. They need practice. We submit a wish
list which will go out to units all over the country, and a unit can choose
their projects based on their needs.

Military units would be able to live on campus while completing the
necessary work. "That's an advantage we have," Keller said. "We can provide
housing. "It's not a sure bet, but it's an opportunity.

The project would provide free labor and equipment, with only the
building materials being funded by the school. Kelly Surveying Company is
bringing a drone to do an aerial map of the campus. With that 3D model, all
of that documentation will be completed prior to the submission of the
proposal.

"All of those things will hopefully have a positive influence on the IRT
process," Keller said.

All of the emotions, challenges and triumphs of the new year will begin
next week, and Keller  along with his entire staff  are looking forward to
getting the 2016-17 year started on the right foot.

"We are very excited," Keller said. "It's going to be good to be back.






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