Programs at ISD
The school provides the following programs and services:
- Parent Infant Program
- Pre-School/ Pre-Kindergarten
- Elementary
- Junior High
- High School
- CTE
ELEMENTARY program
The Elementary School is responsible for the youngest students of ISD. The department includes Hearing and Vision Connections, the Parent Infant Program and a comprehensive program for students in preschool through grade five. Currently, there are 60 students (29 residential and 31 day students) in the Elementary School and 24 students in the Parent Infant Program. Students receive instruction from the following support personnel on a regularly scheduled basis: physical education teacher, computer-assisted instruction teacher, art/rhythm teacher, speech pathologist and librarian. A learning resource teacher is available on an as-needed basis.
Unique Programs offered at Elementary School:
- Art/Rhythm Program
The art/rhythm program uses a thematic approach. The children learned dances, customs and styles of clothing from other countries and performed during the Elementary Winter Program held in December. They made clothing items such as serapes, ceramic objects such as hope candles and other items in accordance with the theme. A creative art fair will be held this spring to exhibit artwork the children have done and will include a performance.
- Aggression Replacement Therapy (ART)
The learning resource teacher initiated an Aggression Replacement Therapy (ART) program which is a behavioral rehearsal approach to violence prevention. Presently there are three small groups of 15 students each who meet twice weekly. The curriculum is organized around four major areas: pro-social skills, anger control, empathy training and personal responsibility. The program assists students in acquiring skills and competencies necessary to interact in nonviolent ways in a variety of social settings, including stressful situations.
- Lunch with a Cop
The Jacksonville Police Department has launched a new program, "Lunch with a Cop." Each month two students are chosen by the elementary staff to go to lunch with police officer Sergeant Joe Tapscott. Each month two students receive a free t-shirt, ride in the squad car and eat lunch at a local restaurant with Sgt. Tapscott. An elementary staff member accompanies the outing.
- Star School Project
The New Mexico School for the Deaf, Santa Fe, was awarded a five-year grant of $1.3 million through the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. The purpose of the project is to encourage innovation and change in education by implementing and testing a proposed bilingual/ ESL model for deaf students acquiring and learning two languages, American Sign Language and English. An effective system of staff development within residential deaf schools to guide teachers in the use of the two languages will be designed.