Newark, June 6, 2022, The Newark Board of Education welcomes Marianne Belsky, the Chief Academic Officer for the Laurent Clerc Center at Gallaudet University.  This three-day visit highlighted our auditory programs at Bruce Street School for the Deaf and Technology High School.

Over the past few years, a delegation from the district has visited the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (KDES), the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD), and Gallaudet University in Washington, DC.  These schools, in the nation’s capital, serve as the gold standard and leading model for auditory programs across the country.  The purpose of our visits was to observe best practices within the classrooms for students who are deaf and hard of hearing, and incorporate that learning into our redesign strategy outlined in the ten-year strategic plan here in Newark.  The delegation included Superintendent Leon, Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services Carolyn Granato, Special Education Director Marilyn Mitchell, the administration and staff of both schools, as well as, students from Technology High School.

This week, the objective of Marianne Belsky’s visit to Newark was to identify training and technical assistance needs to enhance, improve, and modify our existing deaf and hard of hearing program at both schools.  During Phase 1, Marianne Belsky, Chief Academic Officer from the Laurent Clerc Center visited Bruce Street School for the Deaf and the Auditory Impairments Program at Technology High School to conduct classroom observations of the programs, review current curriculum materials, and engaged with staff, students and their families.  At the conclusion of the debriefing of the site visits today and in moving forward, the Clerc Center will assist the schools and the district in outlining key strategies, professional development opportunities, curriculum recommendations, and facilities modifications to assist us in becoming one of the leading models in the country and one of the preferred schools of choice in the northeast.

In recent years, we visited Katzenbach in New Jersey to highlight auditory programs of excellence here in our great state, and we look forward to working collaboratively with them as well as our friends at these three schools in Washington, DC.

For additional information, please visit:

NBOE Strategic Plan – The Next Decade:  https://www.nps.k12.nj.us/mdocs-posts/nboe-strategic-plan-the-next-decade/

Bruce Street School:  https://www.nps.k12.nj.us/bru/