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Alexander
Graham Bell Montessori School (AGBMS) of Mt. Prospect, IL successfully
certified to serve foreign students
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2003
Re: Alexander Graham Bell Montessori School (AGBMS) of Mt. Prospect successfully
certified to serve foreign students.
Agbms offers the only full inclusion program nationwide for deaf and
hard-of-hearing children. Outstanding literacy results continue to attract
all students.
For more information:
Contact Holly Trueblood: 847-297-4660
MT. PROSPECT, IL. -- The Alexander Graham Bell Montessori School, recognized
as the only private school in the country offering a full inclusion program
for deaf and hard of hearing children, using the visual-oral Cued Speech
system of communication, proudly announces another significant landmark – its
successful certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information
System (SEVIS).
This certification by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security allows the school to continue
serving foreign students who meet the eligibility requirements for non-immigrant
students studying in the U.S. Congressman Mark Kirk and his staff have
been instrumental in their support and guidance to complete this process
in time for the start of the current school year.
AGBMS is a classic Montessori preschool and elementary school for children
of ages 3-12, where approximately 25% of the student population is deaf
or hard of hearing. The advantages of teaching Cued Speech over traditional
sign language have been powerful.
Cued Speech students have been documented to achieve a literacy level
comparable to their hearing peers. Historically for students who only
learn American Sign Language, expectations for comparable literacy levels
are greatly diminished. AGBMS stands at the forefront in helping deaf
and hard of hearing students reach their full potential.
AGBMS currently serves one foreign student, Josselin, a profoundly deaf
child from Central America. Josselin lives with her sponsor family in
the United States, to develop spoken language skills and receive an education.
Because of the lack of services in her native country, Josselin had developed
NO language in the first six years of her life! But by the end of her
first year using Cued Speech – at home and school – Josselin
had been able to achieve a language equivalent age of three years. When
she completes the elementary program, it is fully expected she will have
achieved a level of language proficiency and literacy to match her hearing
peers.
AGBMS is a project of the READ Educational Center. READ fosters literacy
and empowers deaf and hard of hearing children to achieve their full
potential through unique educational options and services. READ is especially
well-equipped to serve children with little or no auditory potential,
as well as children whose current language abilities are so far below
age level that they wouldn't qualify for inclusion into other types of
oral programs.
For more information on the Alexander Graham Bell Montessori School,
call Holly Trueblood at 847-297-4660. You can also visit their website
at http://www.agbms.org For more information
on READ Educational Center, see http://www.aehi.org.
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