Page 24 - August Report

CLARKE SCHOOLS LETTER (2)
for children of all ages. Altogether, our programs served close to 1,000 children in year-long and summer programs. In addition to serving children and families in the states where our schools are based, tVisits enabled us to extend our impact as far north as Rhode Island and as far west as California—as well as internationally in Bermuda and Turkey.
In May, Nell Rosenberg, Clarke’s National Director of Teleservices, and Katie Jennings, Clarke Mainstream Coordinator and Teacher of the Deaf, together presented a webinar on the advantages of teleservice as part of Clarke’s new Webinar Series for Families, which you can access at this link: https://www.clarkeschools.org/resources-publications/webinars-families/
When we announced the challenge grant, I’m sure you saw an uptick in website visits, and I can tell you it is a point of pride to be among your “network of innovative funding programs and progressive relationships in the United States and Canada [including] some of the most respected and important community programs, schools, colleges and universities.” While my Clarke colleagues cannot all write to thank you, I write on behalf of them to thank you for the acknowledgement of their work.
I would like to close with an example of how this all comes together to serve families and children. We often hear from our families even after they leave Clarke, and I thought you would appreciate an example from one of our Clarke mothers:
“As early as three months, we had Clarke early intervention with Hannah twice a week. I’m personally amazed at how much the Clarke staff do with such a small budget. They’re performing miracles every day, and it’s their passion and unwavering commitment to the kids that will allow those kids to succeed in school and in life. It was critical for Hannah to have that support early on in development. She is one of the youngest students in her entire third grade class! She flies through math assignments, rarely not receiving perfect scores, and her reading and comprehension skills are off the chart. She has developed a vibrant personality and confidence that has allowed her to make friends and also thrive socially, which we’d argue is equally as important as academically. We say this as proud parents, but really for two other reasons: (1) to tell other families it is possible, your children will succeed, and (2) to thank Clarke, because Hannah would not be where she is now, and would never get to wherever she’s headed, without the tremendous support we’ve received over the years.”
Because of the Johnson Scholarship Foundation, we will have more success stories like Hannah’s for years to come. Thank you for believing in our work and helping us succeed in helping families and children.
With gratitude and warm regards,
Judy Sexton, M.S., CED LSLS Cert AVEd
Head of Programs and Schools, Interim President
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