Page 27 - 2024 April report

GRANT PROGRAM COMMITTEE MINUTES (5) 12. Disability Programing
a. Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech
Bobby introduced Nell Rosenberg, National Director of Teleservices for Clarke Schools, and Michael Straubel, a Trustee and former Board Chair for Clarke. Michael joined the meeting via Zoom. A proposal requesting $150,000 over 2 years for the tVisit Teleservices Program had been circulated along with the following materials: a report from a Zoom meeting from January 29, 2024; a report from a February 21, 2024 site visit to Clarke’s Philadelphia location; and a JSF summary of applicant financial information.
A tVisit is a virtual session with a child who is deaf or hard of hearing and the child’s family and/or school team. The ultimate goal is for these children to transition into mainstream schools. The tVisit program started in 2013, and previous JSF grants to Clarke have supported the program. Nell’s background includes experience as a speech-language pathologist, educator and therapist. She explained that the power of the tVisit is that it educates parents, who are a child’s first and best teacher. The tVisits help overcome 2 main barriers to in-person services. The first is a critical nationwide shortage of teachers of the deaf. The second is limitations on family access. Those limitations include geographic distance from providers; lack of transportation; parent work schedules; access to childcare; and frequent medical appointments for the deaf or hard of hearing child. An estimated 40 percent of deaf and hard of hearing children face multiple medical appointments. Medical fragility is another concern.
In addition to overcoming barriers, tVisits were rated as effective in a survey of parents in the program. Clarke also looked at norm-referenced data for speech and language. Students who participated in tVisits achieved many of the same milestones as their hearing peers. Clarke has 3 future goals for the tVisit program. The first is geographic expansion of tVisits into areas with few listening and spoken language services. The second is launching a comprehensive communications plan to expand outreach. The third is enhanced data collection and analysis to improve enrollment and fundraising.
Currently most of the families are in the Northeast, but many are also in other parts of the U.S. including Maryland, California and Florida. There are also 6 international families in the program. The providers are also in various locations. Nell explained there is a need for speech pathologists who have licensure in multiple states, whereas teachers of the deaf have more flexibility to work across state lines.
A question was asked about Clarke’s business strategy. Michael said Clarke operated under an old business model when he joined the Board of Trustees. In the past 3 years, Clarke has taken steps to reduce costs and has adopted a new operating model. One big change is the upcoming move of Clarke’s Philadelphia location from the La Salle University campus to St. Joseph’s University. The new location is expected to attract new families, provide research opportunities and allow deaf and hard of hearing students to attend classes alongside hearing students. Opening the classes to tuition-paying hearing students will generate new revenue. Michael was asked about whether Clarke intended to raise matching funds for this grant. He said the organization already has several fundraising initiatives, and he believes JSF’s grant will be marketed in a way to raise matching dollars. However, he believes that being obligated to raise a certain amount each year would create additional pressures. This led to a discussion about fundraising. Michael said the organization is conducting a CEO search, and the new person likely will bring in his or her own fundraising team. Another question was asked about why the request is for $150,000 over just 2 years. Michael said the tVisit program will continue to lose money for a time, but the goal is for it to become self-sustaining.
A question was raised about the measurable goals of the project since the goals listed in the application are vague. Nell said there will be goals for student outcomes, such as norm-referenced language outcomes on par with the children’s hearing peers. The plan is to start with 2 states and
Education / A Powerful force for change Page 25