The Growth and Expansion of a Co-Enrollment Program: Teacher, Student, Graduate, and Parent Perspectives

Abstract

In 1995 a principal and a small group of teachers committed to full inclusion for students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) founded a co-enrollment program at a small public school in the Southwestern United States. Established with nine DHH children, this co-enrollment program has expanded to include 49 DHH students from preschool through eighth grade. Information obtained through interviews with teachers, current and former hearing and DHH students, classroom interpreters, and parents of current and former students will describe the components of this program and how it has benefited and impacted participating students, their families, and the school community. The chapter concludes with essential components of a successful co-enrollment program and challenges that may be encountered working toward a successful program.

Emerging Ecology of a Sign Bilingualism and Co-enrollment Classroom

“…Some programs strived to achieve full inclusion at as many levels of schooling as possible, supported by co-teaching between a Deaf or a hearing teacher who signed fluently and a general education hearing teacher (e.g. Kreimeyer et al, 2019;Yiu et al, 2019). Abbate (2019) advanced a dual-campus concept connecting a school for the deaf with a cluster of regular partner schools where DHH students belonging to the deaf school were placed in the general education classrooms based on their evolving language needs, subjects pursued, and academic achievement at specific stages or routines of their education.…”