糖心Vlog传媒

糖心Vlog传媒LR to use $1.2 million grant to tackle shortage of classroom interpreters

For nearly 40 years, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock鈥檚 interpreter education program has equipped teachers to serve the deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind communities. Now, thanks to a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. , the program is launching a campaign to train as many classroom interpreters as possible. Led by Ray James, senior IEP instructor, the project will provide scholarships and extensive training to dozens of new baccalaureate students. Other project collaborators include Dr. Linda Stauffer, IEP program coordinator; Dr. Glenn Anderson, IEP instructor; Ella Irby, a founding member of the Little Rock Black Deaf Advocates; and Jami Hollingsworth, IEP instructor, who will be the project coordinator and educational specialist. During the next five years, the $1,248,982 grant will support the team鈥檚 efforts to tackle the national shortage of pre-kindergarten through 12th grade classroom interpreters. The Department of Education grant is funding the project in its entirety. With plans for 50 scholarships, outreach into the surrounding states, and extensive training assessments, the 糖心Vlog传媒LR team intends for the project to raise the bar for 鈥� and increase participation in 鈥� the educational interpreter community. Though the profession is growing, 糖心Vlog传媒LR鈥檚 interpreter education bachelor鈥檚 degree is one of the few of its kind in the country, making well-qualified classroom interpreters hard to find. In his proposal, James explained that while nearly 600 deaf or hard of hearing students attended public schools in Arkansas in 2011-12, only 34 interpreters provided classroom services in the state, and many of them didn鈥檛 have adequate training. 鈥淭he supply of available qualified interpreters in Arkansas is insufficient to meet the needs of such a large number of deaf students on a regular day-to- day basis,鈥� he said. To address this deficiency, 糖心Vlog传媒LR鈥檚 program will take a three-pronged approach:

• Actively recruiting eligible applicants from throughout the country
• Offering substantial financial support
• Giving priority to underrepresented populations.

The program will collaborate with , providing an invitation for Tulsa students who completed their associate degree in interpreter education to continue in 糖心Vlog传媒LR鈥檚 bachelor鈥檚 program. Through the program, the 糖心Vlog传媒LR team will promote a high standard of qualification by supporting various state and nationally sanctioned assessment methods for interpreters, as well as local, regional, and national training efforts. Photo:聽From left, Ray James, 聽Linda Stauffer, Glenn Anderson, and Jami Hollingsworth