Call for Submissions for Next Issue of Odyssey

From across the nation, you sent us stories about strategies and tools that enhance student success for the Spring/Summer 2009 issue of Odyssey. We couldn't pass up another chance to share approaches that support student achievement. This time we are focusing on ways to meet the diverse needs of students who are deaf and hard of hearing. Classrooms are becoming more academically diverse, containing students representing multiple cultures, with a range of ability levels and from varied experiential backgrounds. Deaf and hard of hearing students also have varying levels of fluency in American Sign Language, English (written and spoken), and the languages used in their homes.

For the next issue of Odyssey, we would like you to submit articles and share with the nation how you meet all your deaf and hard of hearing students' individual needs when they are in larger groups of students, both in the classroom and out. For example:

• The alternative assessments your school uses to track the progress of deaf and hard of hearing students with severe disabilities.
• A time you ensured the needs of a child with cognitive or other impairments in your classroom were met in a group of students who had fewer barriers to access to the curriculum.
• Variations of the above example: A. How you differentiated instruction within a class of many students, or B. How you differentiated the curriculum to meet a spectrum of needs within a single classroom.
• How your program groups students by ability for certain activities when a student may demonstrate very strong analytical, creative, and critical thinking skills in American Sign Language but does not have a corresponding strength in reading written English, or vice versa, especially when potential classmates demonstrate strong skills in the opposite language or both languages.
•  How you provided an appropriate academic challenge for a student who was significantly ahead of age-group peers in academic ability.
• The support services you or your program successfully provided for a student with a disability to ensure success in a mainstream program or a school for the deaf as opposed to a program specifically geared towards students with that disability.
• An academic or extracurricular activity or program that is structured to ensure full access for all students, regardless of linguistic competence or academic ability.
• The process by which an IEP team made decisions about which support services were the most appropriate for a particular child, selected the ideal placement, and followed up throughout the year to ensure the placement and support services were effective.
• How you helped boost the self-esteem of a student who felt different from his or her peers. 
• Your experience as a current student or a recent high school graduate in a classroom with students who had a range of exceptionalities or linguistic and communicative skills.
• Your experience as a parent working with the school system to create and implement an individualized program for your child with disabilities.

We welcome any submissions that share successful strategies for supporting the diverse needs of students who are deaf and hard of hearing. E-mail your ideas to odyssey@gallaudet.edu by September 1, 2009; fully developed articles are due October 1, 2009. We also welcome shorter news articles about programs, activities, or educators and other professionals who have had an impact on deaf and hard of hearing students. Contact us via e-mail at any time with questions or to discuss your ideas.

Submission Guidelines