TimesLeader.com

Gov. Rendell wants to close Scranton School for the Deaf

February 28, 2009

Seeking a helping hand

BILL O ’ BOYLE boboyle@timesleader.com

Nicollette Schwab’s hands were moving so fast you could feel the emotion in her words.

Schwab is a 16-year-old freshman at the Scranton State School for the Deaf and she was using American Sign Language to emphatically say that she wants to ask Gov. Ed Rendell why he wants to close her school.

Scwhab, daughter of Sherry Kresge of Tannersville, will be part of a field trip to Harrisburg Tuesday with 64 other students from the Scranton school that Rendell has proposed to close at the end of this school year. The governor has cited economic constraints as justification for closing the 129-year-old institution that has provided specialized services to the deaf community for generations.

Nicollette said she would welcome the opportunity to talk to Rendell and tell him why the school should stay open.

“I’m preparing for my future,” she said through an interpreter. “This school will give me my future. It can’t close.”

Nicollette’s mother, Sherry, said the public school system didn’t work for her daughter. Since being at the school, Sherry has seen a remarkable improvement in her daughter. “We’ve tried them all,” Kresge said of other schools and programs for deaf children. “This is the best place. It’s not like we have a lot of options either.”

Dr. Monita Hara, the school superintendent, said she can’t understand how the decision to close the school was made without any recent visits – several years – from anyone from the governor’s office or the state Department of Education to fairly evaluate the school’s performance.

“Our students do well academically – more than 90 percent score well enough to be eligible for college admittance,” Hara said.

Hara said the parents of students are struggling trying to understand why the state would ant to close a school that has helped their children so significantly.

“They are searching for answers,” Hara said. “We have asked for the Department of Education to send a designee to come in and evaluate our program; to see what goes on here. We have not received a response.”

Rosa Ramos of Wilkes-Barre has three children enrolled – Kiara, 14; Adolfo, 9; and Victor, 5. Rosa is deaf and she attended public schools in New York. She said the experience “wasn’t any good; the education was inferior.” Rosa spoke through an interpreter, Arnine Weiss, a 25-year employee at the school.

“Here the students learn and they thrive,” Rosa said. “They have to keep this school open. Mainstreaming is not good for deaf students.”

Emelia and Vladimir Slavova were living in Sofia, Bulgaria, until six years ago. They are the parents of two deaf children – Radoslava, 18, and her brother, Vlado, 13. Emelia told the story of how they came to live in Scranton and how they chose Scranton State School for the Deaf.

With two deaf children, the Slavovas began an online search for a deaf school in the U.S. They chose the Scranton school because they felt it was by far the best in the country.

Vladimir is a computer engineer and speaks three languages. Emelia has two master’s degrees – in engineering and speech pathology – and she speaks five languages.

“My kids came here with no language skills; no ability to use sign language,” she said. “Now they are excelling in school.”

If the school closes, Emelia said she doesn’t know where she will send her children.

Marge Davison Matisko, chairwoman of the school’s board of trustees, said they have asked for a representative of the Department of Education to sit on the board, but none was ever appointed.

“We’ve never received a lot of support from the state,” Matisko said. “They are right when they say they don’t want to run the school because they never have expressed any interest in the operation of the school.”

Matisko said there were meetings with Dr. Gerald L. Zahorchak, secretary of education, and the school submitted a plan that called for trimming its budget by $3 million. That was in October, Matisko said.

“The next time I heard from Dr. Zahorchak was when we were notified that the school was closing,” she said. “There was no prior discussions; no interest in exploring other options. We wanted a partnership; what we got were directives.”

Matisko said, “We want to know why too. We’ve had no discussions with Gov. Rendell directly. I would as the governor what he thinks is the most appropriate placement for a deaf child. I think he needs to hear all sides of this story.”

State Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. During a hearing Thursday, Baker learned that there is a $5.5 million line item in the Office of Administration’s budget to cover unemployment compensation and transition costs associated with the closure of the Scranton State School for the Deaf and Scotland School for Veterans’ Children.

“They announced this closure with no plan in place to serve the students and their families, but they are already preparing for displaced workers,” Baker said. “I believe the priorities are misplaced. We will learn more from the Department of Education at the Appropriations Hearing next week.”

Chuck Ardo, Gov. Rendell’s press secretary, Friday said a request has been received from the school for the governor to speak with 65 students who will be in Harrisburg Tuesday on a field trip.

“At this time, it is not even known if the governor will be in Harrisburg,” Ardo said. “Gov. Rendell has stated that if parents and students are so inclined to advocate for the school that they should contact their legislators and help find cuts to compensate for the program.”

Rally today

A rally will be held today from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Scranton State School for the Deaf, North Washington Avenue, Scranton. Alumni of the school are hosting the rally to protest Gov. Ed Rendell’s proposal to shut the doors of the 129-year-old institution. There are 109 deaf students, including 18 from Luzerne County, enrolled. Luzerne County students are from Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Nanticoke, Hazleton, Back Mountain, Kingston, Luzerne, Hanover Township and Wyoming.

Bill O’Boyle, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7218.