Renewal of DeafTEC: Technological Education Center for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students

2015年是《美国残疾人法案》（ADA）通过25周年，这是一项具有里程碑意义的民权立法，禁止歧视，确保残疾人享有平等的机会和机会。尽管在过去25年中取得了进展，但残疾人的就业率仍然远远低于其他人口。这对于失聪或听力困难的美国人来说尤其如此。在STEM领域就业为d/hh人提供了很大的好处，因为在STEM职业中的d/hh人比在非STEM领域的d/hh人多赚31%，并且在STEM领域就业减少了聋人和听力雇员之间的收入差距。这个中心，DeafTEC，旨在增加d/hh个人获得职业信息，技术教育和不受限制的就业。DeafTEC将影响d/hh学生的知识和态度，以及高中教师，社区学院教师，家长，辅导员和雇主，在教育和就业机会和选择方面。该中心的专业发展经验将提高高中和社区大学教师在STEM科目的教学专业知识，为这些学生提供更多的学习机会，并帮助雇主培养成功将d/hh技术人员融入工作场所的敏感性和技能。DeafTEC还将通过与当地社区学院和退伍军人项目合作，开发有关教育这一服务不足的受众的最佳做法的资源，扩大对听力损失退伍军人的覆盖面。该中心将：（1）在高中，社区学院和行业之间的国家目标区域发展扩大的伙伴关系，以改善d/hh学生获得技术教育和就业的机会;（2）开发与初中和高中学生STEM职业相关的全国传播新课程，为社区学院学生做好就业准备，以及为一般教师准备方案教授d/hh学生STEM科目的最佳实践;（3）为社区学院教员提供专业发展资源，介绍教授有听力损失的退伍军人的最佳做法;（4）开发一个扩大的网站，作为与d/hh学生的技术教育和技术员职业有关的信息交流中心;（5）继续扩大国家STEM双学分计划，以改善d/hh学生从高中过渡到大学的途径。DeafTEC在STEM课程中强调通用设计，发展数学和写作，可以使所有需要额外资源和支持的学生受益。高中、社区学院和雇主之间建立的伙伴关系也可以作为一种模式，在其他地区以及其他服务不足的学生群体中推广。

2015 marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the landmark civil rights legislation that prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity and access for persons with disabilities. Although progress has been made during the last two and a half decades, people with disabilities continue to be employed at rates much lower than the rest of the population. This is especially true of Americans who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (d/hh). Being employed in STEM provides a great benefit for d/hh people, since overall d/hh people in STEM occupations earn 31% more than d/hh people in non-STEM fields, and being employed in STEM reduces the earning gap between deaf and hearing employees. This center, DeafTEC, aims to increase the access for d/hh individuals to career information, to a technical education, and to unrestricted employment.DeafTEC will impact the knowledge and attitudes of d/hh students, as well as high school teachers, community college faculty, parents, counselors and employers, in terms of the educational and employment opportunities and options available. The Center's professional development experiences will improve the instructional expertise of high school and community college teachers in STEM subjects to provide greater access to learning for these students, as well as help employers develop the sensitivity and skills to successfully integrate d/hh technicians into the workplace. DeafTEC will also expand its reach to veterans with hearing loss by developing, with their local community colleges and veterans programs, resources on best practices for teaching this underserved audience. The Center will:(1) develop expanded partnerships in targeted regions of the country among high schools, community colleges, and industry to improve access to technological education and employment for d/hh students;(2) develop new curricula for national dissemination related to STEM careers for middle and high school students, job readiness for community college students, and best practices for teaching d/hh students in STEM subjects for general teacher preparation programs;(3) provide professional development resources for community college faculty on best practices for teaching military veterans with hearing loss;(4) develop an expanded website to serve as a clearinghouse for information related to technical education and technician careers for d/hh students; and(5) continue to expand a national STEM dual credit program to improve pathways for d/hh students to transition from high school to college.DeafTEC's emphasis on universal design, developmental math and writing across the STEM curriculum can benefit all students in need of additional resources and support. The partnerships established among high schools, community colleges, and employers can also serve as a model that can be replicated in other regions as well as with other groups of underserved students.