      [Music]
      
Our academic program serves students preschool, so, age 3, to age 21
and we have a standard high school program that offers elective and required classes.  
Our graduation requirements are in line with what the state of Washington requires.
All of our curriculum is adapted so that it meets individual student needs,
but at the same time compliant with state requirements.
Our residential program is set up in six different cottages.
They are beautiful, homelike environments.
We have elementary through high school living together in one cottage.
We've really seen so much benefit from that multi-age living arrangement.
The younger students have the opportunity to look up to the older students.
Older students have the opportunity to teach the younger ones. 
We've always served students from around Washington state.
But we've served them primarily here on campus in Vancouver.
The new Washington State Center for Childhood Deafness and Hearing Loss 
is a change of the name from WSD to the Washington State Center.
It changes the name of the agency to demonstrate that we are a state-wide agency.
Right now we go out, we have teams that travel all over Washington.
On any given day, really, there is some staff person 
providing service in an other place in Washington state.
One of the things that we offer is the Post High School Program.
That's specifically a program set up for students who have already graduated from high school.
These students have the opportunity to come and focus on transition-related skills 
that will help prepare them for their next steps after high school.
We work with the individual student to design a program that really meets their needs.
We have a curriculum that we use that touches on budgeting, 
on how you move around within the community, using public transportation,
how you find an apartment, how you develop a resume, how you interview for a job, 
and then, of course, provide that direct on-the-job training to support the student.
In the post-high school program, I have learned so much about dealing with personal finances.
I didn't know anything about it before.
and this work experience will really help me in the future
because I can put it on my resume and will have professional references.  
The Post High School Program is providing me with all of this.
She is very accurate when we give her something to do.
She'll ask questions if she's not entirely clear about it.
And then she'll just go to work independently and get the job done.
I know, when Dehne' first started, I would talk to her, 
and it was kind of funny because I was doing all these things with my hands.
And I would do silly things like, you know, throw it away.  
[Laughs]
And she would giggle at me, and it kind of created personal experience there.
Our goal is that the students would come and stay for between 3, 4, maybe 5 months, 
again that's individualized for the specific student, and by the time they leave, 
they really have the skills they need to take the next step in their life.
She seems to be gaining a lot of understanding, not just of how a business office works, 
and some of the administrative tasks that go along with that, 
but she's actually, we think, understanding a lot about the hotel business, 
which may propel her into a career in this field, if she should choose to be in hospitality.
When a student lives in the Post High School Program, 
they become responsible for most all of the aspects of their daily life.
It really provides them the opportunity to learn how to be independent.
There is a deaf center called the Southwest Washington Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at WSD.
I have been learning about all the different services provided there for deaf people.
I really want keep learning more about the real world, 
because I haven't been exposed to it much yet and the Post High School Program is doing that for me.
Deaf Education Advocates Foundation is dedicated to supporting 
and promoting these important programs and services.
We rely on the support of a caring community to help us make a difference 
for the children and youth served by Washington State Center for Childhood Deafness and Hearing Loss.
By making a contribution to the foundation, 
you can help us to give Washington state's deaf and hard of hearing students 
the tools, educational opportunities and support that they need to meet their full potential.
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Captioned by WSCCDHL
