Seems like things are looking up! An invitation has been sent out by Ms. Cecelia Winkler regarding the Referent Group.
View sample letter below:
The Michigan School for the Deaf and the Michigan Department of Education are inviting you to participate in a referent group to assist the School in formulating recommendations for a new Communication Policy.
We will be meeting on April 13 and May 10, 2006, at MSD. Dr. Steven Nover, of the CAEBER Institute, will be assisting us with our work. Our meetings will begin at 1 PM and conclude at 8 PM on both days. The first day we will review the operating principles of the referent group, clearly define the work to be done, and get started on the recommendation(s). The second day will be focused on finalizing the recommendation(s).
If you can commit to working with us these two days, we will be sending you more details prior to the first meeting.
Thank you for considering this work!
I need a mailing address to send the written invitation. Can you email back one that I can use please? Thanks CAW
Cecelia A. Winkler, MA
Principal
Michigan School for the Deaf
810.257.1467 (V/TTY)
810.257.1416
As much as we are excited about the progress, we would like to address a few concerns:
Since the invitations were sent out by Ms. Ceceila Winkler herself, we question the potential conflict of interest here because we still are not confident in Ms. Winkler's leadership as stated clearly in the beginning.
Also, who will be facilitating the meetings? Is the facilitator neutral? (In other words, does s/he understand the difference between Deaf and hearing cultures?)
How will the communication be set up? Will the Deaf people have to rely on the interpreters or everyone in the room will be signing so we all will be on an equal footing? Dr. Marschark's research suggests that Deaf/HOH college students learns less than their hearing counterparts through even RID certified interpreters. If this is true and we apply to the Referent Group meetings then Deaf/HOH participants will miss out on the information shared throughout the discussions. Now, you see, we need to ensure that communication is set up in a manner that Deaf people don't lag behind during the meetings of ultra-importance.
Dr. Hughes, can you please address these concerns above?
We appreciate your commitment to ensure that a quality education will prevail at Michigan School for the Deaf.
*Note: The meetings are open to public, anyone can come and observe.*
