Programs and Projects
Star Schools Project
 The
Star Schools Project is a multi-state distance learning project
that is funded by a five-year U.S. Department of Education Star
Schools grant. The purpose of the grant is to implement and test
a proposed bilingual/English as a Second Language model for deaf
students acquiring and learning two languages, American Sign Language
(ASL) and English.
SIGNS OF LITERACY: BECOMING BILINGUAL TEACHERS THROUGH
STAR SCHOOL TRAINING
The Star Schools Project, under the direction of Dr. Stephen M.
Nover at the New Mexico School for the Deaf, is one effort to define
pedagogy and practices for the application of bilingual/bicultural
theories and practices with deaf and hard of hearing students, with
an emphasis on development and learning of both first and second
languages. It is an innovative model designed to promote change
within teachers and schools by engaging participants in the application
of theories and knowledge in general bilingual education to ASL/English
education of deaf and hard of hearing children. This model was designed
to include the components of exemplary professional development.
Five schools have participated in this project to date, and each
of these participant-schools has helped to further shape both the
curricula and the training itself. An additional five schools began
participating in the fall of 2001. One of the five schools was the
Kendall
Demonstration Elementary School (KDES), presenting the Clerc
Center and the Signs of
Literacy research team with the opportunity to investigate the
thinking and teaching practices of the KDES participants and how
these change over the two-year duration of the Star School training.
KDES's involvement in the Star School Program presents an opportunity
to learn about whether and how teachers engaged in a professional
development model designed to immerse them in learning and critical
reflection on bilingual/bicultural pedagogy change their beliefs
and practices over time, both collectively and individually. Key
components of this professional development model include mentoring,
study groups in the form of weekly seminars, and opportunities to
reflect on, apply, and evaluate the appropriateness of theories
and practices for deaf and hard-of-hearing children over a period
of two years.
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The Signs of Literacy team
is investigating the following questions:
- What kinds of changes in beliefs, teaching practices, and classroom
interactions of Star School teachers and mentors occur over the
two-year project period?
- How do the documented changes relate to the Star School training
goals?
Teachers and their mentors are being studied as they learn (individually
and collaboratively), reflect on, and apply bilingual education
theories and instructional strategies through the Star Schools professional
development model. The in-service training is being documented and
described as it takes place at this particular school, with these
particular mentors and teachers. Changes in teacher thinking and
classroom practice are being documented as well as how these changes
relate to the training.
Specifically, the central focus of the proposed analysis is on:
- how the teachers' and mentors' understanding of ASL and English
biliteracy acquisition and learning changes over the course of
their Star Schools program involvement,
- which components of the professional development model offered
by the Star Schools program training appear to be related to these
changes, and
- how this professional development model is utilized by the school
and participants over this particular period of time.
The results of this study will contribute to a better understanding
of bilingual/bicultural pedagogy and practices and to a better understanding
of a model for teacher reflection and change.
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WEB SITES RELATED TO THE STARS SCHOOLS PROJECT:
USDLC Star Schools
USDLC
Star School’s Vision Statement, Mission Statement, and Action
Framework
Star Schools Project’s
Annual Reports and Visit the Star Schools Project Participant Websites
Distance Learning Resource Network
New Mexico
School for the Deaf — USDLC Star Schools Project
Signs of Literacy
(SOL) Projects
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WHAT'S HAPPENING AT KDES
KDES has been selected to participate in the Star Schools Project,
a multi-state distance learning project funded by a five-year U.S.
Department of Education Star Schools grant and sponsored by the
New Mexico School for the Deaf.
Summer 2000—Katie Breedlove, Lead Teacher for Team
1/2/3 and Maribel Garate, ESL Teacher/Researcher, participated in
training sessions to become mentors for seven teachers and staff
members from KDES over a two-year period.
December 2001—Seven KDES teachers: Steven Benson
(ECE), Brenda Perrodin (ECE), Nancy Topolosky (ECE), Barbara Kaufman
(Team 1/2/3), Sharon Sandoval (Team 1/2/3), Leticia Arellano (Team
4/5), and Francisca Rangel (Team 4/5) attended the Star Schools
Level I training seminars for thirteen weeks. Dr. Lillian Tompkins
(Gallaudet University’s Department of Education) and Maribel
Garate were leading the seminars. “The Stars Shine at KDES”
written by Maribel Garate was printed in Star
School News, Winter 2001.
April 2003—KDES teachers Brenda Perrodin (ECE),
Lisa Pershan (Team 1/2/3), Sharon Sandoval (Team 1/2/3), and Francisca
Rangel (Team 4/5) completed their two-year training with the Star
Schools Project. (Described in the Clerc
Center Connection, May 2003.)
May 2003—Dr. Laurene Gallimore from Gallaudet's
Department of Education presented information on the Star Schools
Project at KDES with her co-presenters, KDES Teacher/Researchers
Francisca Rangel and Sharon Sandoval at the Committee
On National Deaf Education, Board of Trustees at Gallaudet.
September to December 2003—The Star Schools training
will continue next year in a different format. Three semesters of
course work at Gallaudet will be offered for three graduate credits
per semester. Lisa Pershan and Francisca Rangel have been designated
as KDES mentors and will co-teach with Dr. Gallimore. Seven more
KDES teachers and staff will participate in training sessions for
thirteen weeks. The participators are Julie Mitchiner (ECE), Elizabeth
Hall (Team 1/2/3), Layce Reed (Team 4/5), Susan Schatz (Team 4/5),
Gabrielle Jones (Team 6/7/8), Gloria Pagan (ESL Teacher), and Stacey
Pedersen (ASL Specialist).
NEWS ABOUT STAR SCHOOLS PROJECT AT KDES
“Star Schools Program Comes to Kendall” [GNews,
12 October 2001]
“KDES to Participate in Star School Distance Learning Project”
[Clerc
Center Happenings, 18 May 2001]
“KDES to Participate in Star Schools Distance Learning Project”
[Odyssey,
Summer 2001, page 32]
“The Stars Are Still Shinning”
[Clerc
Center Connection, December 2001]
“Star Schools Program at Kendall Goes Into Second Year”
[GNews,
6 September 2002]
“KDES Shining Stars”
[Clerc
Center Connection,
May/June2003]
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