Open Message to OSPI

[id: long haired white male wearing a green shirt in front of a gray background] https://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(21)00036-6/fulltext Dear Chris Reykdal, We are writing you today to express our joy and earnest gratitude for the work you have done in Washington, bringing to the forefront a push towards multilingual education. Watching your recent video promoting this very work, we at Rosen Family Preschool in Seattle, WA, where we use American Sign Language and English, agree wholeheartedly that your message resonates deeply in each of us—educators and students alike. Nearly six years ago, our team came together to set up a preschool so that Deaf students from 3-5 years old could have direct access to instruction in their heritage language, American Sign Language, and develop English skills under the tutelage of Deaf bilingual educators. Last year, we expanded the program by inviting hearing students to learn in an ASL Immersion classroom and with that has come a wealth of opportunities and possibilities that we’d like to share. The video from the OSPI highlighting your efforts in embracing multilingualism revealed that, as we say, your hearts understand ours—in ASL that’s the sign for empathy. We now pose a question to you: How can our school become a part of this budding cohort of multilingual schools in Washington? Our program is rapidly growing and we’d like to become partners with the OSPI in realizing our vision. Your list of participating schools did not mention an availability of programs offering instruction in American Sign Language—how can we fill that gap? We look forward to joining the conversation of what equitable education looks like in our future together. In earnest, Rosen Family Preschool Hearing Speech and Deaf Center #hsdc #rosenfamilypreschool #seattle #washington #americansignlanguage #deafeducation #bilingual #duallanguage #OPSI #multilingual #schools #yourlistofparticipatingschoolsdidnotmentionASL #whereisASL