On Wednesday July 29th we had the pleasure of a presentation from Minnesota State Academy Superintendent Terry Wilding. His presentation was interpreted by Nettie Peters. Terry was born in Idaho to a family with 9 brothers and sisters all of whom are deaf. Terry and his wife Lisa have three children, also deaf. Terry stated the mission at the Academies, which include MSAD Academy for the deaf and MSAB Academy for the blind. The missions are simple - to make successful adults out of the students who attend.
MSAD starts with students as young as 18 months. Children and often parents need to be taught sign language at a young age so they are able to communicate. Classes and programs at MSAD last until age 21. The school mascot is the Trojan and students can live on campus.
MSAB starts at Kindergarten and extends to about age 21 with classes and programs. Their school mascot is the gopher. Students can live on campus and that is extremely important at both academies. According to Terry way more learning happens after 3:00 (the end of the school day) during programs than in standard school classes during the day.
The Academies do not have a school board voted on like our public schools, rather a board of “experts” appointed by the Governor. The budget is set by legislators. Covid poses all new challenges to the Academies, and Terry urged us to remember the ADA law passed 30 years ago. The Americans with Disabilities Act has challenged us to think outside the box when it comes to Covid solutions. One example is clear face masks- it is important to see faces and mouths to communicate and face masks pose a problem. That was just one example.
Terry thank you for your presentation, please join us again!!
