Monday, May 10, 2010

Deaf Students Forced into Small Rooms

Teachers and Parents at New York City's school for deaf children are upset they are having to move into classrooms so small, they will not be able to place desks in a U-shape so that students can see each other sign. Desks can't be laid out in traditional rows in a school serving children who are deaf. Parents of students at the ASL and English lower and secondary schools say it's a mistake for the Education Department to put 100's of students from the Clinton Middle School in their building. It's one of a handful of schools in the US with sign language and English-speaking teachers in almost every classroom. In the Education Department plan, the deaf school will give five full-sized rooms in the facility to Clinton, leaving deaf students to use the building's half-sized classrooms.