Pennsylvania
Western Pa. School for the Deaf residence program prepares students for what’s ahead
Life skills
In March, as part of the residential program, students from the dorm went shopping at Giant Eagle for ingredients to prepare dinner — the girls chose meatloaf and mashed potatoes and the boys decided on calzones.
“I learned to discuss with everyone what to buy and how much to buy,” said Jared, 18, a 10th grader from Murrysville. “We had to agree on what to make so that we all would like it.”
They learned to communicate in the grocery store what they needed. The students and staff members used sign language to decide what they wanted to buy. Halik said students can use their smartphones to communicate with store employees and show what item they were looking for. There are also apps that convert talk to text. Or they can write down what they are looking for.
“It is so satisfying to see a kid grow up here. … We make it a homelike environment for them.”
— Tom Halik, dean of boys
Being able to leave campus is also one of the benefits of dorm life. Micah and Chris, who have become best friends, were among the residents who went ice skating at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center on Neville Island in February.
“We enjoy these trips,” said Micah, 15, a ninth grader from Lancaster. “They are a change of pace. And with so many activities, we don’t have a lot of time to be homesick.”
Chris and Micah are on the basketball and track teams. When you see one, you usually see the other.
“We are a team,” said Chris, 16, who is from Lawrence County and is in ninth grade.
“Sports are great because they give the students a chance to be with not just their teammates but other students from visiting teams,” said Micah’s sister, Starla, 14, who is in eighth grade.
In the dorm, students learn to look out for each other.
Student Micah (right) slaps high-five with his friend Chris while the two were in the boys’ residence at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Edgewood.
“It is so satisfying to see a kid grow up here,” Halik said. “Two of the girls here, I took care of their mothers. Many of the former students reconnect with the school. We make it a homelike environment for them.”
Director of Student Affairs Bill Estes, who is deaf, said the goal is to create a “home away from home.” Students get to socialize with students of different ages and cultures. He recalled his parents dropping him off at a dorm at the Alabama School for the Deaf when he was 5 years old.
“I really cried,” he said. “I grabbed for my dad’s hand and hoped he’d come back. I appreciate what my parents did. I enjoyed being there, and I made friends who I missed when I went home on weekends.”
He said students have lots of commonalities, and those opportunities might be limited at other schools.
“We remove that barrier of communication,” Estes said. “Therefore, they have the opportunity to do anything those who are hearing can do. They are not limited here.”
Farmer, who is deaf, said he tells people that he is living proof it’s about making the impossible possible.
“Deaf people can do anything except hear,” Farmer said.