My Boarding School Blog

We live in a world that values the importance of higher education in building a career and acquiring a profession. We can initiate change and make a difference if we have the knowledge coupled with the passion to do so. Higher education is in demand nowadays to be able to sustain our daily needs. A college diploma has the power to acquire better paying jobs, social status, professional career and personal achievement. It is good to know that even though higher education is expensive and is not always made available to everyone, there are still institutions that offer excellent education for those who have physical disabilities. The Deaf or Hard of hearing community is not left behind in the hopes of a better future through a high quality of education.

Gallaudet University is the leading educational institution for the deaf and hard of hearing undergraduate students. It is highly acclaimed with its competitive programs and outstanding graduate curriculum. It upholds the history, research, language and culture of the deaf community. The Gallaudet University implements innovative educational strategies and maintains a high standard quality of education since it was founded in 1864 by an Act of Congress in which charter was signed by President Abraham Lincoln.

Deaf and hard of hearing students can choose among 40 majors offered to Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degrees. The university lets the undergraduate students design their own majors called “self directed majors”. They are given the option to choose classes in different departments or to take courses offered in 13 affiliate institutions belonging in the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan area.

Gallaudet University also stands out among others for their use of technology as means of instruction and academic development. 94% of courses in the university have online components and an online learning system that students can use. Many courses include video recording of classes and their own online video library. The university has partnered with Sorenson Communications to offer services that include Internet relay and Video relay services for students to use for communication. Deaf students will have no problems of communicating with other non-deaf people.

Perhaps the most notable characteristic of Gallaudet University is it advocacy in contributing knowledge and scholarships to the deaf students. The Gallaudet Research Institute performs studies in demographics and assessment of deaf and hard of hearing people in the educational system. The university engages students in research to further refine language and learning processes. Gallaudet University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

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Special Education is a collection of services provided by educational institutions to persons with disabilities between ages 3 to 21. The program is designed to guarantee that students with disabilities are provided with an effective teaching environment. People with disabilities ranging from physical disabilities like hearing impairment, deafness and blindness, mental disabilities like Autism and Down’s syndrome, behavioural deficits like attention deficit hyperactivity disorders; and those with cognitive disabilities like dyslexia.

In Canada, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHCA, PL 94-142) orders states to provide free and appropriate public education (FAPE) to all students with disabilities. Students will need to undergo a comprehensive screening from a medical team for identification and diagnosis. An Individual Educational Plan (IEP) will be provided for each student which specifies academic and behavioural goals to be met, services needed and the ongoing evaluation process. Institutions has the option develops their own IEP including a detailed assessment of the student’s strengths and areas of improvement.

In the US, Special Education was made mandatory by the Federal Government in 1975. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) was created to address issues of discrimination against students with disabilities. The EHA was later made into Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). The states in the US are funded to provide Special Education coherent with Federal Standards. Part of this act is the promotion of the least restrictive environment (LRE) for students with disabilities along with a free appropriate public education (FAPE). LRE is characterized as giving opportunity to the students with disabilities to learn and be educated with non-disabled peers. Generally students with disabilities should have access to resources, extracurricular activities, and programs available to non-disabled students.

To be qualified to participate in the special education provided by the IDEA, a student needs to have any one of these disabilities.

• Autism
• Developmental disability
• Specific learning disability
• Intellectual impairment
• Emotional or Behavioural disability
• Deafness and Language disability
• Blind or those with Visual Disturbance
• Physical Impairment
• Attention Deficit Disorder, Multiple disabilities and brain injury

It is very important that the state cares for providing education to people with disabilities. As part of the nation’s aim to push for the “No Child Left Behind” policy legislators and educators are mandated to provide these benefits to qualified applicants. Training for teachers of special education should be enhances to better equip them with the knowledge and expertise in helping these kids attain standard education fitting with their needs and disabilities.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A fight at a troubled South Los Angeles high school escalated into a campuswide brawl involving as many as 600 students before it was quelled by police officers in riot gear.

The melee, which students said was between rival black and Hispanic gangs and started around noon on Friday, forced the authorities to shut down the school, Locke High, and keep students in their classrooms. After restoring order, they rounded up those involved and separated them, holding Hispanic students in the gymnasium and black students in another room.

Four people were arrested, three students for fighting and one nonstudent on suspicion of possessing a knife, said Susan Cox, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles school district.

Several students were injured and treated at the scene, officials said.

A music teacher, Reggie Smith, told The Los Angeles Times that it was a chaotic scene and difficult to distinguish between those fighting and those trying to avoid the mayhem.

“The kids were crazy, running from place to place, jumping on other kids,” Mr. Smith said. “Some of my kids were crying because they were walking to class with friends and they got jumped.”

Victor Wong, an 18-year-old senior, told The Times that the brawl grew out of a fight two days earlier between two graffiti gangs. He said Hispanic students who were friends of his asked him to participate in a fight planned for Friday that was to pit 10 Hispanic students against 10 black students.

Read the full story here.

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Q. When do I apply?
A. Applications completed by February 15 will receive priority consideration. If you miss the deadline, you may still apply. We will evaluate applications on a rolling basis after our first round of acceptances. We may still have openings available in late spring or early summer.

Q. How is the application process different for international students?
A. Because Dunn School does not offer ESL, all international students must submit a TOEFL score of 500 or above. We do offer vocabulary and grammatical support for international students in our Non-Native English class. If you need a student visa, we will issue an I-20 form only after a student has been accepted and enrolled. International students that are accepted to Dunn must have a guardian residing in the United States.

Q. When is the application process complete?
A. The Admission committee will only review an application when we have received the following:

>> Your formal application
>> Teacher and personal recommendations
>> Transcript of current and past grades
>> Tour and personal interview
>> Score results from the SSAT or ISEE

Q. What are the SSAT and the ISEE?
A. The SSAT and the ISEE are tests that are widely used by independent schools to assess a candidate’s academic potential. When you take these tests, you will have the opportunity to have the results sent directly to Dunn School. Our school code is 2914 for the SSAT and 051 863 for the ISEE. You can find testing websites for dates and locations in the Admission Resource section.

Q. What is your Learning Skills program?
A. The Learning Skills program accommodates a select group of applicants with minimal, diagnosed language and learning difficulties. Students who qualify for this program meet individually with an LS teacher for fifty minutes four times per week. Instruction includes strategies and skills for coping with and compensating for a learning difference.

Q. How does divorce or separation affect the financial aid application process?
A. The Financial Aid Committee considers the financial resources of both parents and any stepparents. Both the custodial and non-custodial parents are required to complete financial aid applications.

Reference.

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Cate School, established in 1910 by Curtis Wolsey Cate, is a four-year, coeducational, college-preparatory boarding school in Carpinteria, California, United States.

In addition to an academic curriculum that features a combined thirty-eight Advanced Placement (AP) offerings and honors courses, all students participate in an extracurricular program that includes athletics, drama, music, dance, community service, and an extensive outdoor program. The class size averages between ten and twelve students.

The student body of 265 students (83 percent are boarders) comes from twenty-three states and thirteen countries and is both academically talented and diverse.

Some Quick Facts:

Cate’s student body is recognized as much for its talent—academic, artistic, and athletic—as it is for its warmth and vitality.

Admission

> Inquiries received yearly for admission: 2,000
> Interviews conducted yearly for admission: 450
> Applications submitted yearly for admission: 450
> New students enrolled yearly: 75-80
> General median SSAT total percentile of new students: 80th

Student Body

> Total students: 265 (220 boarders / 45 day)
> Boarding students from outside California: 43%
> Boarding students from abroad: 19%
> Students of color: 41%
> Students who receive need-based financial aid: Almost 30%
> Financial aid allocated for 2006/2007: $2,000,000
> Foreign Nations represented in student body (by home address): England, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Macau, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand
> States represented in student body (by home address): AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, ID, IL, LA, MA, MD, MT, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, TX, UT, VA, WA

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