Experts from the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes will make two presentations and participate in the poster session at the Southeastern Regional Institute on Deafness (SERID) 2019 Annual Conference in Huntsville, Alabama, on October 10-13. Founded in 1971, SERID 2019 has expanded from a small regional conference to a national event known for its training expertise, innovative leadership, and professional development.
National Deaf Center Assistant Director Carrie Lou Garberoglio, PhD, is one of the featured “speed conference” keynote presenters in a session called SERID Talks, which is immediately following the conference opening on Friday, October 11. She will address the topic of transition.
“Navigating Systems Change Together” will be co-presented by Savio Chan, MS, CRC, Technical Assistance Specialist, and Erika Shadburne, MA, Developmental Education Specialist, on Saturday, October 12, at 2:30 p.m. They will focus on the National Deaf Center’s Engage for Change | state (EFC | state) collaborative model, which emphasizes the importance of cross-agency partnerships in strengthening systems to improve outcomes for deaf youth after high school. Chan and Shadburne will provide SERID 2019 attendees with examples of the support that EFC | state teams receive, insights on surprises and challenges along the way, and plans to expand future resources.
In addition, the National Deaf Center will participate in a poster session on Friday, October 11, at 4:30 p.m. The poster, Closing Education Gaps for Deaf Students: Improvement Science and the Research-to-Practice Connection, illustrates how the National Deaf Center uses a coherent, multidimensional approach to support states and other stakeholders in the development and implementation of accessible programming for deaf youth to help them achieve educational and employment success after high school. Because it is a shared interest of many states, high-quality summer programming is used as the poster’s example of how improvement science is used to provide necessary practical assistance in four key steps:
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Research Summary: Deaf Youth and Summer Programs: The Why and How was published to explain why summer camps and other programming are important for deaf youth, to serve as an advocacy tool for stakeholders seeking funding, and to identify focus areas for programming content.
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Deaf Community Interviews: The National Deaf Center collected summer camp stories from deaf people, who explained the impact such programming had on them. These compelling videos show the nuances that are important to remember when serving a diverse population.
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Interviews of State Agency Colleagues: Experienced state and national leaders contributed their perspectives and insights on how to launch and sustain accessible summer programming.
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Online Learning: The National Deaf Center has launched an online course, Developing Summer Programs, to facilitate peer engagement and synthesize all of its resources. This class includes opportunities to collaborate with state and national leaders and develop measures for success.
The National Deaf Center is a technical assistance and dissemination center federally funded by the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to provide evidence-based strategies at the local, state, and national levels.
