To:
Valerie Sutton
SignWriting Literacy Project
Deaf Action Committee for SignWriting
P.O. Box 517
La Jolla, California, 92038-0517

Dear Valerie:
The teachers of the 9th-12th grade, at the Jordan High School, in the city of Columbus, Georgia, would like to participate in your SignWriting Literacy Project. We are part of the Muscogee County School District. Our school has about 1,000 students in grades 9-12. We have fourteen students who are deaf or hard of hearing. This is the first year we have offered American Sign Language (ASL) and this class has included eight hearing students.

Some of our teachers would like to introduce SignWriting to their students. These teachers are interested in learning and using SignWriting because of our struggle for literacy. Our school has 15-30 students who will be participating in the Literacy Project this year.

We agree, as a group, to complete three Web Reports in return for the SignWriting materials and technical support you will donate to us. We understand that this letter and all three reports will become public information and will be posted to the SignWriting Email List and posted on the SignWriting Web Site. You have our full permission to use the information as needed.

Thank you for considering us for your project.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Frey
signlanguage1@juno.com

Date: Sun, 28 Feb 1999

From: Cynthia Frey
Teacher of Deaf and
Hard of Hearing Students
Jordan Vocational High School
signlanguage1@juno.com


1. Why do you want to learn SignWriting?
I teach deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing students a variety of subjects, including ASL. I want to help them develop literacy and improve their fluency in ASL which I feel will impact their education in general. I am in contact with those in the Deaf community and would like them to know of this development. I am a nationally certified interpreter who is active in the policies of the interpreting community here and I would like to share this information with the others in the field.

2. What have been some of your past frustrations when teaching?
My students distaste for, and frustration in reading have been a frustration to me.

3. Are you hoping that SignWriting might help? If so, in what way?
I have heard and seen evidence that ASL is the way to teach English. I feel SignWriting will help them improve their skills in both languages.

4. How would you like to use your web page?
Not knowing exactly how this works, I am not sure but I am excited at the prospect of our students making contacts "out there" and being a part of this new phenomenon.

5. Some additional information about your students?
Our school has about 1,000 students in grades 9-12. We have fourteen students who are deaf or hard of hearing. This is the first year we have offered ASL and this class has included eight hearing students. Hopefully this is just the start, but of these students six should return next year and be automatic communication contacts for these and our rising ninth grade deaf and hard of hearing students. I will begin using SignWriting as a way to instruct the ASL students and as a way to write about English in ASL. The students' writing assignments, short simple ones at first, could be in ASL and then be translated to English.

I have 11 signers among my students, four interpreters, and there are two of us who teach the deaf/hoh. We have ASL classes for credit for the first time so many hearing students will be learning to sign and about SignWriting.

Cynthia Frey
Teacher of Deaf and
Hard of Hearing Students
Jordan Vocational High School
signlanguage1@juno.com