216 CEASD ANNUAL CONFERENCE MONDAY, MAY 5, 2008 - 8:30 A.M. MR. GETTEL: GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE. WE'RE GOING TO GET STARTED. WELCOME TO MONDAY. THIS IS MONDAY, IN CASE ANYBODY'S COMPLETELY LOST TRACK OF THEIR CALENDAR. SOME OF US HAVE BEEN HERE FOR ALMOST A WEEK. THAT'S HARD TO BELIEVE, ISN'T IT? FIRST, I WANT TO RECOGNIZE AND GIVE THANKS TO THE AMERICAN SCHOOL FOR SPONSORING OUR BREAKFAST. WE APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU, ED. WE WILL HAVE A -- I THINK, ARE WE HAVING A BREAK? I CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER -- SOMEWHERE IN HERE, BUT WE HAVE TWO PRESENTATIONS THIS MORNING. AND JUST FOR ANY OF THOSE WHO ARE GOING TO BE AROUND THIS AFTERNOON AND ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO, AT ABOUT 1:15 WE WILL HAVE A VAN THAT WILL LEAVE THE FRONT OF THE HOTEL AND WILL GO TO OUR CAMPUS. THERE WILL BE A TOUR THERE WITH JIM KELLY WHO'S OUR DEAN OF 217 STUDENTS. THAT'S AT 1:30. SO IF YOU HAVE YOUR OWN TRANSPORTATION, YOU CAN JOIN THEM. YOU CAN ASK FOR DIRECTIONS AT -- THERE'S A BREAK AT 9:45. SO IN BETWEEN THESE TWO PRESENTATIONS -- THANK YOU, CLAIRE, WE HAVE A BREAK. WE'LL GET STARTED NOW. WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT THE WORK THAT THE BOARD, CEASD BOARD HAS BEEN INVOLVED WITH OVER THE PAST ABOUT A YEAR IN PLANNING FOR -- I GUESS, PLANNING FOR OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. AND TO SHARE WITH YOU INFORMATION ABOUT THAT PLAN AND ITS DEVELOPMENT AND WHERE WE ARE WITH THAT, THIS MORNING IS SYDNEY DICKERSON WHO IS THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE HAWAII CENTER FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND. AND SHE'S RESPONSIBLE FOR BOTH THE RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL AND THE STATEWIDE EVALUATION TEAM AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING THROUGHOUT THE STATE. SYDNEY AND I WENT TO THE SAME GRADUATE SCHOOL, LEWIS AND CLARK, WHICH UNFORTUNATELY IS NO LONGER THERE WHICH IS A COMMENTARY ON WHAT'S HAPPENED WITH 218 FEDERAL FUNDING FOR THE PROGRAMS THAT WE NEED TO TRAIN OUR TEACHERS. I'M ON A BIRDWALK HERE, I'LL COME BACK. WITH HER THIS MORNING IS DR. RON STERN, SUPERINTENDENT NEW MEXICO SCHOOL AND OUR HOST FOR NEXT YEAR'S CONFERENCE. RON WAS PREVIOUSLY THE PRINCIPAL AT THE CALIFORNIA SCHOOL IN FREMONT. AND BEFORE THAT HE WAS THE DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS AT GALLAUDET AND A TEACHER AT MSSD. RON IS IN NEW MEXICO ALSO ON THE STATE'S ADVISORY PANEL. AND SO WE WELCOME BOTH OF THEM UP HERE TO GIVE US AN OVERVIEW OF CEASD'S STRATEGIC PLAN. MS. DICKERSON: RON SAYS THAT EVERYONE IS JUST SO TIRED OF WATCHING PRESENTATIONS AT THIS POINT THAT HE'S GOING TO GO AHEAD AND HAND IT OVER TO ME BECAUSE YOU'VE ALL SEEN HIM ALREADY. MAKING ME A BIT MORE NERVOUS. I'M THE BABY OF THIS GROUP, I FEEL. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. ALOHA FROM HAWAII. TWO OF US ARE PRESENT ON CEASD'S STRATEGIC PLAN, ACTUALLY THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS AND TO JUST 219 SHARE SOME WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE WHICH STARTED LAST FALL OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS. CLICK. SO WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE PROCESSES AND NOT NECESSARILY THE FINAL PRODUCT AT THIS POINT AND SOME OF THE POSSIBLE PROPOSED STRATEGIC DIRECTION AND THEN OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU ALL TO SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK WITH US; WHAT WE HAVEN'T, YOU KNOW, REALLY CONSIDERED, WHAT WE'VE OVERLOOKED, WHAT WE NEED EXPANSION UPON. MR. STERN: FOR NEXT YEAR'S CONFERENCE, THE BOARD HAS AGREED, EVEN THOUGH WE FREQUENTLY DO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET FEEDBACK LOOKING AT CONTENT, WE'LL LOOK AT FORMAT OF THE CONFERENCE ITSELF, I THINK WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB. AND WE WANT TO DO THAT BEFORE WE LEAVE HERE TODAY TO REALLY GENERATE SOME IDEAS FOR NEXT YEAR. AND PERHAPS THERE ARE ISSUES THAT WE'D LIKE TO BRING FORWARD COMMENTS HERE OR OTHER TOPICS THAT HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN TOUCHED ON. SO WE'D LIKE TO DO THAT BEFORE WE 220 LEAVE. MS. DICKERSON: SO AGAIN, WE STARTED LAST OCTOBER IN THE FALL. OUR BOARD GATHERED AND MET. WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT ESTABLISHING SOME STRATEGIC ORGANIZATION. BECAUSE REALLY, YOUR NEEDS OUT THERE ARE CHANGING WITH THE WINDS. WE, TOO, NEED TO MAKE THOSE CHANGES TO FIT OUR NEEDS TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER. MR. STERN: OBVIOUSLY, THE STRATEGIC PLAN DOES NOT BELONG TO THE BOARD, IT BELONGS TO THE ORGANIZATION. AND SO WE NEED YOUR PARTICIPATION AND YOUR FEEDBACK. IN OTHER WORDS WE WOULD LIKE TO SOLICIT THAT AS WE PROCEED THROUGH THE PROCESS SO THAT THE BOARD CAN FOLLOW ON YOUR IDEAS. SO OUR VISION IN THE PROCESS WOULD BE TO HAVE EVERYTHING COMPLETED BY THE SANTA FE CONFERENCE. AND IF WE CAN MAKE FINAL DECISIONS THERE, THAT WOULD BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH WHAT WE'RE HOPING FOR. SO, AGAIN, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE AREAS THAT WE WANT TO GET THE FEEDBACK ON AND 221 BRINGING THOSE FORWARD TODAY. MS. DICKERSON: ALSO, WE, AT THE SAME TIME, ARE REALIZING THAT, YOU KNOW, THE DOCUMENT IS YET TO BE SET IN STONE. IT'S A FLUID DOCUMENT. IT'S STILL IN THE WORKING PROCESS. SO THAT'S -- WE'RE NEEDING YOUR GUIDANCE. SO WE'RE SAYING WE WOULD LIKE SOMETHING READY BY THE TIME THE SANTA FE CONFERENCE IS HERE, BUT YET, AGAIN, WE'RE STILL OPEN TO DISCUSSIONS, REVISIONS, AND JUST SEEING WHERE THE PROCESS ITSELF TAKES US WITH THAT. MR. STERN: I HAVE A QUIZ FOR ALL OF YOU. CEASD WAS ESTABLISHED WHEN? DOES ANYBODY KNOW? NO LOOKING OVER -- NOT BOARD MEMBERS. BOARD MEMBERS CAN'T ANSWER. OVER HERE? FROM THE FLOOR: 1887. MR. STERN: 1887? THAT'S WHEN THE NEW MEXICO SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF WAS ESTABLISHED. NICE TRY. I APPRECIATE YOUR EFFORT THERE. I APPRECIATE YOU THINKING OF MSD DURING THIS QUESTION. BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT CEASD. WHEN CEASD 222 WAS ESTABLISHED. DOES ANYBODY KNOW? HE SAID 1842. NO, ACTUALLY 1868. SO WE ARE A VERY OLD ORGANIZATION. AND OBVIOUSLY THE CEASD MISSION HAS HAD TO CONTINUALLY ADJUST ITSELF OVER THE YEARS. AND THAT'S WHY WE FEEL IT IS TIME, IN FACT, TO DO SOME REVISION AROUND THE MISSION STATEMENT, IDENTIFYING OUR VISION, IDENTIFYING OUR BELIEF STATEMENTS. SO WE CLEARLY NEED TO ESTABLISH A DIRECTION THAT SUPPORTS THE NEW GENERATION. A QUESTION HERE? FROM THE FLOOR: WHEN IS THE LAST TIME THE STATE -- THE MISSION STATEMENT WAS ADJUSTED?. FROM THE FLOOR: MAYBE 1969. MR. STERN: 1896? NO, 1996. NO, BECAUSE OUR WORLD HAS CHANGED A LOT AND QUICKLY OVER TIME, SO YES, 1996. MS. DICKERSON: HOW MANY OF YOU ALREADY KNEW THE MISSION STATEMENT, ARE FAMILIAR WITH IT? HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE MEMORIZED IT? EXCEPT FOR IT'S CEASD'S MISSION STATEMENT. I ONLY KNEW THE NAME 223 THAT WAS CEASD'S MISSION STATEMENT. I MEAN, THE REST OF IT, I COULD NOT MANAGE TO MEMORIZE. DR. CORRICK HAD MENTIONED KEEPING THE IDEA SHORT, SWEET, AND VERY SIMPLE WITHIN OUR MISSION. SO FORTUNATELY, AS A BOARD, WE HAVE BEEN CONSIDERING THAT. SO WE WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE A MISSION STATEMENT. MR. STERN: AND OBVIOUSLY CEASD, WHEN IT WAS ESTABLISHED, WHY IT WAS ESTABLISHED, WAS TO SUPPORT STATE SCHOOLS. AND THE BOARD FEELS THAT CEASD IS FIRST AND FOREMOST AN ORGANIZATION THAT DOES SUPPORT STATE SCHOOLS AND LARGE PROGRAMS THAT SERVE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN. AND THAT IS A VALUE OF OURS. BUT WE ALSO FEEL SOMETHING THAT'S MISSING FROM THIS MISSION STATEMENT IS THE ADMINISTRATION SUPPORT AND AS WE SUPPORT EACH OTHER AS INDIVIDUALS IN OUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS, THE SUPPORT THAT WE NEED TO MAKE OUR SCHOOLS AND PROGRAMS STRONGER. AND WE FELT THAT THAT PIECE SHOULD BE A PART OF THE MISSION 224 STATEMENT NOT JUST THE STATE SUPPORTED SCHOOLS AND LARGE PROGRAMS FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING STUDENTS BUT FOR THE ADMINISTRATORS IN THE FIELD OF DEAF EDUCATION. SHORTER AND SIMPLE. CAN WE JUST GO BACK AND SEE THE OTHER ONE AND COMPARE IT TO THE FIRST ONE, PLEASE? SO AGAIN, I KNOW WE'RE NOT GROUP WRITING, IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE WANT TO EXPLORE TODAY, BUT FEEDBACK -- WE WILL BREAK INTO SOME SMALL GROUPS PERHAPS AT DIFFERENT TABLES AND HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE SOME FEEDBACK TO THE STATEMENT; WORDS YOU DON'T LIKE, JUST ANY OF THE CONCEPTS YOU FEEL ARE MISSING. THE BOARD WILL GATHER THOSE COMMENTS TOGETHER AND, AGAIN, BASED ON THOSE, MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEIR PROPOSAL. OBVIOUSLY, IT'S SIGNIFICANTLY SHORTER. WE FEEL THE MISSION STATEMENT SHOULD BE SHORT AND EASY TO REMEMBER. AND THIS IS FAIRLY CLEAR. I THINK IT'S MORE FOCUSED ON THE PIECE AND, AGAIN, INCLUDES ADMINISTRATORS. 225 MS. DICKERSON: ALSO, DEVELOPING OUR BELIEF STATEMENTS AS WELL FOR CEASD. I MEAN, AGAIN, THIS IS A ROUGH DRAFT; JUST IDEAS AND FEELINGS THAT WE VALUE AS ADMINISTRATORS. SO GO AHEAD AND TAKE A MOMENT TO READ IT. MR. STERN: IT'S INTERESTING WITH THE CONVERSATIONS WE'VE BEEN HAVING AROUND THE MISSION STATEMENT AND THE NEW BELIEF STATEMENTS OR THE REVISION TO THE MISSION STATEMENT AND BELIEF STATEMENTS, ET CETERA, LOOKING AT THE IDEA OF CEASD AND THE C IN THAT, THE CONFERENCE. AND I THINK A LONG TIME AGO FOR A LONG TIME, CERTAINLY WHEN THE ORGANIZATION WAS ESTABLISHED AND FOR MANY YEARS SINCE THEN, WE WERE NOT SURE UNTIL WHEN, BUT CEASD FUNCTIONED AS A CONFERENCE OF SUPERINTENDENTS. THEY WOULD MEET ONCE A YEAR. AND THE C DOES MEAN CONFERENCE. SO IN CONVERSATION WE TALKED ABOUT CHANGING THAT, BECAUSE WE ARE MORE THAN JUST THIS ONCE A YEAR, THIS ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF SUPERINTENDENTS. WE DO A LOT OF WORK BETWEEN CONFERENCES AS WELL. 226 AND YET IN THAT CONVERSATION, WE KNOW IN COLLEGES THEY'LL HAVE THE CONFERENCE OF -- A CONFERENCE CAN MEAN SOMETHING JUST BEYOND A MEETING FACE TO FACE IN THE UNIVERSITY WORLD. SO MEMBER SCHOOLS CAN GET TOGETHER, THEY WORK TOGETHER, AND THAT IS PART OF BEING A GROUP, I.E., A CONFERENCE. AND SO THE CONFERENCE IN THIS CASE, IN THE CEASD COMPONENT, IS THE CONCEPT OF BEING TOGETHER AS A COLLECTIVE. AND THAT IS WHAT CEASD IS TODAY. SO THE NAME CEASD AND THE WORD "CONFERENCE" MEANS EVEN THOUGH IT'S BEEN THERE FOR A LONG TIME, IT'S STILL RELEVANT, PERHAPS WITH A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT INTERPRETATION. MS. DICKERSON: I THINK WE HAD A QUESTION OR COMMENT BACK HERE. FROM THE FLOOR: I KNOW YOU SAID THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE DIVIDING INTO PERHAPS SMALL GROUPS FOR CONVERSATION. I JUST WONDER WITH THE STATEMENT AND BELIEFS, THE TWO OF THEM, I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S APPROPRIATE, IF WE'RE FOCUSING ON WHAT WE'RE DOING CURRENTLY, THE GOALS 227 OF THE NATIONAL AGENDA. I'M NOT SURE IF THAT SHOULD BE A PART OF THE STATEMENTS -- STATEMENT OF BELIEFS. I THINK IT'S A PART OF OUR PRACTICE SOMETHING WE HOPE WILL CONTINUE FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE IN THE MISSION STATEMENT AND SO I THINK THAT'S MORE, YOU KNOW, RELATED TO THE ACCREDITATION LATER. IF WE DECIDE TO SUPPORT SOMETHING ELSE, THEN THAT WILL NEED TO BE MODIFIED. SO I WONDER IF THAT'S NOT TOO FOCUSED AND THAT THESE SHOULDN'T REMAIN MORE BROAD, PERHAPS RESEARCHING BEST PRACTICES AS NECESSARY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I'M JUST WONDERING IF THOSE TWO PERHAPS AREN'T AS APPROPRIATE AS THEY COULD BE. MR. STERN: THAT'S AN INTERESTING PERSPECTIVE, I THINK ABSOLUTELY INTERESTING PERSPECTIVE. I THINK THE MISSION STATEMENT IS MORE OF A PERMANENT PIECE OF A DOCUMENT THAN THE BELIEFS ARE. AND AGAIN, APPRECIATING FEEDBACK LIKE THAT IN THE CONVERSATION AND TO TAKE THOSE INTO CONSIDERATION. SO THANK 228 YOU. WHEN WE'RE DONE, I THINK WHAT WE'LL DO, WE'LL GO BACK TO YOU IN SANTA FE WITH WHATEVER WE GET AND MAKE THOSE CHANGES. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUICK THOUGHTS JUST THAT YOU WANT TO SHARE READING THIS BELIEF STATEMENT QUICKLY? MS. DICKERSON: AND AGAIN, WHAT WE'RE PRESENTING TODAY IS JUST BRIEF AND SUMMARIZED. IT'S WHAT WE'VE DONE -- WHAT WE DID FOR TWO DAYS IN FREMONT, CALIFORNIA. AND WE WENT BACK AND FORTH ON DISCUSSION AND THOUGHTS AND JUST BRAINSTORMING TOGETHER. AND SO WHAT WE'RE SHOWING TODAY, AGAIN, IS A DRAFT, JUST A WRAP UP OF THAT BRAINSTORMING SESSION THAT LASTED FOR TWO DAYS. SO IT'S REALLY -- IT WAS DIFFICULT FOR THOSE OF US WHO WERE IN FREMONT PRESENTING TO THE BOARD AND SOME WHO WERE NOT THERE, WE JUST KIND OF FELL -- WE COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY THEY WEREN'T UNDERSTANDING US. AND THEN WE REALIZED THAT BECAUSE WE WEREN'T THERE FOR THAT RICH DISCUSSION THAT HAD 229 HAPPENED, THEY WEREN'T SURE HOW WE WERE ARRIVING TO OUR FINAL MISSION STATEMENT AND BELIEF STATEMENTS. SO THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND OR SEE THAT WHOLE PROCESS TO SEE HOW WE GOT WHERE WE GOT. SO REALLY, I APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THIS IS A DRAFT OF WHAT WE CAME UP WITH FROM THAT SESSION. WE ARE CERTAINLY OPEN TO FEEDBACK, SUGGESTIONS. BECAUSE I MEAN, WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AND WHY WE STATED THINGS THE WAY WE DID. BUT, OF COURSE, WITHOUT YOUR PRESENCE IN THAT SESSION, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE ARRIVED AT THESE POINTS. SO FROM THE MISSION STATEMENT TO THE BELIEF STATEMENTS, WE DEVELOPED TWO STRATEGIC GOALS, TWO STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS. AND THAT MIGHT NOT BE ALL OF THEM, ALTHOUGH YOU MIGHT SEE SOME EXPANSION ON SOME OF THESE, SOME AMENDMENTS TO OTHERS. MAYBE SOME WILL BE COMPLETELY DELETED. SO AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A START RIGHT NOW WHERE WE'RE AT. 230 MR. STERN: YOU KNOW, THAT WAS STRATEGIC PLANS. IT'S NOT VERY PRODUCTIVE IF YOU HAVE AN OVERWHELMING LIST OF GOALS OR DIRECTIONS. SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE TWO, AND MAYBE WE'LL BE LOOKING AT FOUR OR FIVE AS A MAXIMUM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO A QUALITY JOB OF DOING WHAT WE SAY WE'RE GOING TO DO. AND SO AS SYDNEY MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE ARE OPEN TO FEEDBACK ON WHAT WE HAVE. HERE'S THE FIRST ONE. MS. DICKERSON: MANY OF YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN JOE FINNEGAN HERE AROUND AND SEEN THAT HE HAS BECOME A MORE VISIBLE PRESENCE WITHIN THIS ORGANIZATION. CEASD WROTE A LETTER OF SUPPORT -- WRITES A LETTER OF SUPPORT TO THE LOBBY TO LOBBY TO LEGISLATURE WHEN IT COMES TO -- WITH HAVING BARBARA HELP US BRING OUR ISSUES TO THE HILL. SO THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WE NEED THE TWO OF THEM TO BECOME A LOT MORE VISIBLE FOR THE SUPPORT OF OUR ORGANIZATION, TO SUPPORT OUR MISSION, OUR BELIEFS AND NEEDS. AND TO SUPPORT THE SERVICES THAT 231 WE NEED TO PROVIDE, WHETHER THAT'S TRAINING FOR DORM STAFF, TRAINING FOR TEACHERS, TRAINING FOR THE SUPERINTENDENTS. RATHER THAN MAKING, YOU KNOW, EACH ORGANIZATION PAY FOR THEIR OWN, MAYBE CEASD CAN HAVE SOME FUNDING THERE TO HELP YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES. MR. STERN: TWO QUICK THINGS TO ADD TO WHAT SYDNEY IS SAYING. CERTAINLY ONE THAT I FEEL THAT SCHOOLS AND PROGRAMS FOR THE DEAF OVER THE NEXT FIVE TO TEN YEARS ARE GOING TO DO THROUGH TREMENDOUS AND CRITICAL TIMES, MAKING OR BREAKING YEARS, AS IT WERE. THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT AT STAKE. AND I THINK LOOKING AT THE DIALOGUE AROUND, HOW CAN CEASD SUPPORT SCHOOLS AND THOSE PROGRAMS AND REALLY VALUE THEM AS VIABLE REPLACEMENTS FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN WELL INTO THE FUTURE. SO WE KNOW SCHOOLS ARE CHANGING. WE KNOW THAT THEY ARE BECOMING BOTH SCHOOLS AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS AND AGENCIES. AND WE WANT CEASD TO BE THERE AND MEET 232 SCHOOLS IN THOSE NEW CONFIGURATIONS. SO WHILE THE BOARD WILL ADMIT THAT WE HAVE AN ULTERIOR MOTIVE WITH THIS STRATEGIC DIRECTION, WE'RE TIRED OF JOE FINNEGAN BASICALLY TALKING ABOUT HIS BED AND BREAKFAST INN, AS IF HE'S NOT BUSY ENOUGH. AND SO WE FIGURE IF WE EXPAND THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE, THAT THAT MIGHT BE REDUCED SOMEWHAT; MORE TALK ABOUT CEASD AND LESS TALK ABOUT THE INN. THAT'S THE SECOND REASON I JUST THOUGHT I'D PUT OUT TO THE MEMBERSHIP. FROM THE FLOOR: I THINK IT'S -- THAT'S AN EXCELLENT REASON. AND THAT'S CERTAINLY VALUABLE FOR US TO CONSIDER. YES, PERHAPS IT'S THE BEST REASON OF ALL. MR. BOSSO: I JUST WANT TO ALSO ADD A QUICK COMMENT. YOU'LL REMEMBER THAT WE HAVE A MISSION STATEMENT, AND THEN THERE'S STRATEGIC GOALS NEEDED TO SUPPORT THE MISSION. THE MISSION IS TO SUPPORT LEADERSHIP, LEADERS IN THE FIELD. SO CERTAINLY, TO DO FUNDING TO EXPAND THE NATIONAL OFFICE SUPPORTS THE 233 LEADERSHIP. SO EACH OF THE STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS NEED TO SUPPORT THE OVERALL MISSION. SO IT'S IMPORTANT JUST TO KEEP THAT IN MIND, KEEP THE MISSION IN MIND, AS YOU CONSIDER THESE DIRECTIONS AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT GOING OFF TRACK. MR. STERN: THE DIRECTION NEEDS TO BE CLEAR. THE FOCUS NEEDS TO BE CLEAR. AND CERTAINLY, THEY NEED TO ALL BE COORDINATED. SO YES, THANK YOU FOR THAT, ED. MS. DICKERSON: WE'VE HEARD ALL YOUR COMMENTS THAT SUPERINTENDENTS DON'T HAVE ENOUGH OPPORTUNITIES TO GET TOGETHER WITHIN THEIR REGIONS OR THAT PRINCIPALS CAN'T GET TOGETHER WITHIN THEIR REGIONS AND DISCUSS ISSUES AND WHAT THEIR ROLES ARE WITHIN THEIR SCHOOLS. AND THAT'S THE REASON WE HAVE THE REGIONAL CONFERENCES AND GATHERINGS WITH GALLAUDET. BECAUSE WE NEED THOSE TIMES TO GET TOGETHER. AND AGAIN, HOW WE LOOK AT EACH REGION, IT'S GOING TO VARY, REALLY, THE NEEDS. YOU KNOW, THE 234 MIDWEST MIGHT NEED SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN THE WESTERN REGION WILL NEED. IT -- AGAIN, WITH CEASD, WE SHOULD BE READY TO RESPOND TO WHAT THOSE NEEDS ARE OUT THERE AND WHAT YOUR WANTS ARE. SO WE'VE HEARD THAT THAT IS A NEED AND A WANT OF THOSE REGIONAL CONFERENCES AND GATHERINGS. SO MAYBE WITH THIS ANNUAL CONFERENCE, IT'S A GOOD PLACE FOR THE SUPERINTENDENTS TO GATHER. YET FROM TIME TO TIME, MAYBE ON A QUARTERLY BASIS, WE CAN HAVE CONFERENCES FOR THE PRINCIPALS TO DISCUSS THEIR ISSUES, FOR THEM TO HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO GATHER, MAYBE EVEN THE TEACHERS TO HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO GATHER FOR TRAININGS INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR OUR ANNUAL CONFERENCE TO COME AROUND THAT ONE TIME A YEAR. I KNOW MANY OF US, ALTHOUGH WE'RE NOT PRESENTING, WE'RE -- YOU KNOW, WE'RE AT OUR TABLES LISTENING TO PRESENTATIONS, WE'RE STILL IN CONTACT WITH HOME VIA OUR TWO-WAY PAGERS OR CELL PHONES AND WHATNOT. AS SUPERINTENDENTS 235 COME, AS PRINCIPALS COME, DEANS, COORDINATORS, ET CETERA, HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY HAVE EACH OF THEM LEAVE THE SCHOOL AT ONCE TO COME TO THIS ANNUAL CONFERENCE? WE DEFINITELY NEED TO BUILD IN THOSE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE ADMINISTRATORS TO GATHER AT THEIR OWN TIMES FROM TIME TO TIME THROUGHOUT THE YEAR SO THEY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS THE ISSUES AT HAND AND COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS AS WELL. MR. STERN: LIKEWISE, JUST TO EXPAND ON THAT IS THAT OVER THE YEARS THAT CEASD REALLY HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON SUPERINTENDENTS AND CEOS. AND I THINK WE A NEED TO ADD AN IN COHORT OR A NEW CONSIDERATION THAT THE MANAGEMENT TEAMS, THE PRINCIPALS AND THE OTHER ADMINISTRATORS DO MORE TO SUPPORT AND INCLUDE THAT GROUP. HOW WE DO IT, YOU KNOW, AT A NATIONAL CONFERENCE, IF IT'S A NATIONAL CONFERENCE, AND THE SUPERINTENDENT, ALL THE PRINCIPALS ARE THERE, WHO'S AT YOUR SCHOOL? YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE THE QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER. SO 236 WE NEED TO ADDRESS AND MEET THOSE NEEDS. HAVING MEETINGS BETWEEN CONFERENCES IS CERTAINLY ONE OF THE POSSIBILITIES. AND WE CERTAINLY VALUE AND DON'T WANT TO, IN ANY WAY, DETERIORATE THE CONCEPT OF THE ANNUAL MEETING FOR SUPERINTENDENTS. THAT IS A VERY HIGHLY VALUED PIECE OF CEASD. BUT HOW CAN WE SUPPORT THE OTHER ADMINISTRATORS AT OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR PROGRAMS IS THE QUESTION. MS. DICKERSON: AGAIN, WE WANT TO GATHER THE FEEDBACK ON THIS ANNUAL CONFERENCE. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S RELEVANT TO YOUR NEEDS. I MEAN, IT'S NICE THAT WE GATHER. IT'S VERY ENJOYABLE TO SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN ON A YEARLY BASIS. YET THE CONFERENCE IS NOT JUST ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THOSE RELATIONS. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE IT'S RELEVANT TO OUR FIELD AND OUR NEEDS IN OUR SCHOOLS. MR. STERN: AND LATER, PERHAPS CINDY HUFF AND MYSELF ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH YOU ABOUT NEXT YEAR'S CONFERENCE, AND WE DO HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE GROUPS TO DISCUSS WHICH 237 WILL MAKE IMPACT ON WHAT WE DECIDE TO DO NEXT WEAR YEAR AT THE CONFERENCE. SO AGAIN, THE PROCESS IS IN PLACE. AND WE'D LIKE TO CONSIDER IT AS AN ANNUAL PROCESS TO MAKE SURE FEEDBACK COMES AT EACH CONFERENCE FOR THE FOLLOWING ONE. SOME MAY FEEL THE CONFERENCE TOPICS NEXT YEAR SHOULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT. PERHAPS OTHERS A LACK OF CONTINUITY IF WE DO IT THAT WAY, OR PERHAPS SOME ISSUES ARE MORE COMPLEX AND NEED TO BE CONSIDERED ANNUALLY. SO I THINK WE'RE AT THE POINT WHERE WE NEED TO LOOK, AGAIN, LOOK AT THAT FEEDBACK AND HAVE A PROCESS IN PLACE THAT HELPS US IN THE DIRECTION OF THE CONFERENCES. MAYBE, I THINK, WE'LL JUST PUT THE FUTURE CONFERENCES CONVERSATION ON HOLD FOR NOW, IF WE COULD GET YOUR THOUGHTS PARTICULAR TO THE MISSION STATEMENT, THE BELIEF STATEMENT OR BELIEF STATEMENTS AND THE TWO STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS AROUND WHETHER YOU'RE ENJOYING THOSE, YOU THINK THOSE ARE APPROPRIATE OR NOT. AND IF YOU HAVE A COMPLETE OTHER IDEA, WE'D 238 LIKE TO HEAR THOSE. AND CERTAINLY CONSIDER THE LAST ONE HERE, YOUR INVOLVEMENT, WHAT ARE SOME WAYS FOR YOU TO BE MORE INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING THE ADJUSTMENTS AND BRINGING FORTH THE MISSION AND BELIEF STATEMENTS. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, AT THE SANTA FE CONFERENCE, SHOULD WE HAVE A SESSION THAT JUST FOCUSES ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND THE MISSION? THAT WOULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY YOU WOULD LOOK FORWARD TO AND THAT WOULD BE ONE WAY FOR YOU ALL TO PARTICIPATE. SO ANY THOUGHTS YOU HAVE ON THAT WOULD ALSO BE APPRECIATED. IF YOU COULD JUST MAYBE WRITE THESE DOWN. HOW MUCH TIME ARE WE GOING TO ALOT TO THIS? LET'S SEE. WHAT TIME IS IT? MS. DICKERSON: WHAT TIME ARE WE DONE? OKAY; WHY DON'T WE GO AHEAD AND PUT UP THE MISSION STATEMENT SO YOU HAVE TIME TO LOOK THAT OVER, DISCUSS IT, AND THEN WE'LL SWITCH IT OUT TO THE BELIEF STATEMENTS. 239 ED'S SAYING WE'LL HAVE FIVE MINUTES AND THEN WE'LL LOOK AT THE BELIEF STATEMENTS THERE. MR. STERN: SO FIVE MINUTES. WE'LL LEAVE THE MISSION STATEMENT FOR CONVERSATION, AND THEN WE'LL SWITCH IT TO THE BELIEF STATEMENTS AND DO IT THAT WAY. COULD I JUST GET THE TABLES TO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES IF YOU NEED AN INTERPRETER. ARE THERE TABLES HERE THAT NEED AN INTERPRETER? WOULD YOU IDENTIFY YOURSELVES? SO GO AHEAD IN YOUR SMALL GROUPS THEN. PERHAPS EACH TABLE CAN GO THROUGH THE PROCESS. (WORKOUT SESSION HELD.) MR. STERN: SHALL WE GO TO THE BELIEF STATEMENTS? EVERYONE, IF I COULD GET OUR ATTENTION. WE NEED SOME NAPKINS HERE TO WAVE. CAN I GET EVERYONE'S EYES FORWARD HERE? HELLO. WE'RE GOING TO JUST CONTINUE TO MOVE DOWN THROUGH OUR MISSION STATEMENT, FIVE MINUTES IS NOW UP. 240 WE'RE GOING TO SHOW THE BELIEF STATEMENTS. WE'LL SHOW THE FIRST PART UP FIRST AND GIVE YOU FIVE MINUTES, THEN WE'LL SHOW THE SECOND PART. SO WE'LL GO ON TO THE BELIEF STATEMENTS. MS. DICKERSON: WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO THE SECOND PAGE OF BELIEFS. IF I COULD GET YOUR ATTENTION. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO THE SECOND PAGE OF THE BELIEF STATEMENTS PAGE. CAN I GET YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE? THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF RICH DISCUSSION GOING ON AT EACH TABLE. I REALLY APOLOGIZE FOR HAVING TO CUT IT OFF AT THIS POINT, YET IF YOU HAVE ANY WRITTEN COMMENTS TODAY, IF YOU COULD PLEASE MAKE SURE THOSE GET TO US, EITHER TO MYSELF OR RON. AND IF SOMETHING COMES TO YOU LATER, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO E-MAIL IT TO JOE FINNEGAN AT THE NATIONAL OFFICE WHICH IS AT -- THE E-MAIL ADDRESS IS NATIONALOFFICE@CEASD.ORG. WE'LL MAKE SURE TO PUT THAT UP SO YOU CAN GET A COPY OF THAT AS WELL. AND I'M SURE YOU ALL HAVE IT IN YOUR PROGRAM SOMEWHERE. 241 SO AGAIN, E-MAIL THAT TO THE NATIONAL OFFICE. WE'LL MAKE SURE TO GET IT PUT UP ON THE POWERPOINT AND THEN PUT UP ON LINE. THE DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS WILL BE SEPTEMBER 30TH. THE REASON FOR THAT IS THE BOARD IS MEETING IN OCTOBER. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE TO HAVE SOME TIME TO PROCESS THROUGH THE COMMENTS, GET THEM GATHERED AND PUT TOGETHER SO WE CAN GO THROUGH THEM QUICKLY IN OUR OCTOBER MEETING SO THAT WE'LL HAVE THE DRAFT READY. AND THEN WE'LL PUT IT UP AGAIN FOR FEEDBACK. IS THERE ANY LAST BURNING COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS THAT JUST ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO GET OUT RIGHT NOW BEFORE WE MOVE ON, BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT YEAR'S CONFERENCE DISCUSSION? OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR ATTENTION. YOUR FEEDBACK IS -- ON THE STRATEGIC PLANNING IS ABOUT YOUR STRATEGIC PLANNING NOT NECESSARILY OURS AS A BOARD. IT'S ALL OF OURS AS A WHOLE AS CEASD STRATEGIC PLANNING; THANK 242 YOU. MR. STERN: OKAY; EVERYBODY, THANK YOU FOR THE FEEDBACK. HAVE ALL THE TABLES TURNED IN YOUR NOTES? IF YOU HAVEN'T, PLEASE DO SO. AGAIN, WE REALLY WANT TO EMPHASIZE WE NEED YOUR CONTINUOUS FEEDBACK VIA E-MAIL, ET CETERA, TO THE MAIN OFFICE, THE HEAD OFFICE. AND AGAIN, WE'RE GOING TO MEET IN OCTOBER. AND SO WHATEVER WE CAN GET BY SEPTEMBER 30TH WOULD BE MUCHLY APPRECIATED. AND THAT WILL GIVE US TIME TO REVIEW THINGS TO BRING FORWARD TO THE BOARD AT OUR OCTOBER MEETING. THE NEXT PART OF THIS MORNING'S PROGRAM, WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT NEXT YEAR IN SANTA FE. AND THIS IS CINDY HUFF. AND CINDY HUFF WORKS AT OUR SCHOOL IN THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE CENTER FOR INFORMATION TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. AND SO CINDY HAS SOME SLIDES AND WILL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT NEXT YEAR AND AGAIN WE'RE WANTING FEEDBACK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT AT YOUR CONFERENCE. CINDY? 243 MS. HUFF: GOOD MORNING. I JUST WANT TO HAVE A QUICK OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF A PREVIEW OF NEXT YEAR'S CONFERENCE WITH SOME SLIDES. AS RON SAID, HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET A LITTLE BIT OF FEEDBACK FROM YOU ABOUT NEXT YEAR'S CONFERENCE AND FILTER THAT. YESTERDAY, RON MENTIONED THE DATES THAT WE'LL BE MEETING IN SANTA FE. AND THAT WILL BE FROM MAY 1ST TO MAY 4TH OF 2009. MR. STERN: AND YOU'LL SEE HERE THIS IS OUR MAIN SCHOOL BUILDING. AND IT'S GRADES THREE -- NO WAIT -- MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL ARE IN THIS BUILDING. WE HAVE A NEW EARLY CHILDHOOD SCHOOL BUILDING. SO THIS IS OUR MAIN SCHOOL BUILDING ON OUR CAMPUS HERE AT MSD. MS. HUFF: WE'RE NOT BIG SKY COUNTRY, BUT WE ARE BLUE SKY COUNTRY. YOU'LL SEE HERE THE ACTUAL SKY. AS WE MENTIONED, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK BRIEFLY WITH THE BOARD LAST WEEK, AND WE REALLY THINK 244 THAT YOU WILL WANT TO COME TO SANTA FE FOR PURPOSES OTHER THAN THE CONFERENCE. SO YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER ADDING A DAY OR TWO OR SEVERAL DAYS EITHER BEFORE OR AFTER. DEFINITIVELY, YOUR SCHEDULE WILL BE FULL WHEN YOU GET TO SANTA FE, BUT HOPEFULLY YOU'LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE SOME OF THE REALLY -- WELL, THE VARIOUS AND BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAT ARE AVAILABLE. THIS IS THE HOTEL. MR. STERN: THIS HOTEL. THE HILTON, IS NOT IN THE PLAZA. IT IS VERY CLOSE TO THE PLAZA, A VERY -- OUTSIDE THE HILTON, THOUGH, THERE ARE A WIDE VARIETY OF SHOPS, GALLERIES, RESTAURANTS. AND JUST TWO OR THREE BLOCKS AWAY IS THE PLAZA ITSELF. SO I HAVE TO ADMIT WE CAN'T COMPETE WITH MONTANA AS FAR AS THE COST OF ROOM RATES; 150 PERCENT INCREASE FROM 70 TO 169. SO IT IS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE. HOWEVER, YOU WILL HAVE AN AMAZING BANG FOR YOUR BUCK WHILE YOU'RE WITH US. AND 245 THERE WILL BE AT LEAST THREE THINGS. THE ROOM RATES WILL BE $179. FOR THE $179 YOU WILL GET TO GO TO THE CEASD CONFERENCE, UNDERSTAND THE REGISTRATION FEE. ON TOP OF THAT AS WELL, YOU'LL GET TO VISIT SANTA FE. AND THIRDLY, YOU GUESS TO VISIT EUROPE. I WAS READING IN A MAGAZINE, IN THE AIRLINE MAGAZINE, GOING TO EUROPE WITHOUT LEAVING AMERICA CAN BE DONE BY A VISIT TO SANTA FE. SANTA FE IS THE MOST EUROPEAN CITY IN THE UNITED STATES. SO OUR DOLLAR IS WEAK GENERALLY RIGHT NOW WORLD WIDE. SO IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO GO TO EUROPE TO STAY IN SPAIN OR PORTUGAL, IT MIGHT BE 3- OR $400 A NIGHT THERE IN AMERICAN DOLLARS. SO REALLY, FOR $179 IT'S A GREAT DEAL TO COME TO SANTA FE AND BE IN THE EUROPEAN STATE. SO EXCELLENT; THANK YOU. MS. HUFF: WE'RE HOPING THAT WE'LL ACTUALLY HAVE ONE DAY OF OUR CONFERENCE AT OUR MSD CAMPUS. WE INVITE ALL OF YOU TO COME. WE HAVE A REALLY BEAUTIFUL PROGRESSIVELY RENOVATING 246 CAMPUS. SO WE HOPE WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHOW ALL OF THAT TO YOU DURING THE ACTUAL CONFERENCE ITSELF. MR. STERN: THIS IS OUR MISSION STATEMENT. ONE INTERESTING PIECE OF HISTORICAL INFORMATION. NEW MEXICO SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF IS OLDER THAN THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO. THE SCHOOL WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1887, AND THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO BECAME A STATE IN 1912. AT THE TIME THE SCHOOL WAS ESTABLISHED, NEW MEXICO WAS A TERRITORY AND NOT YET A STATE. THAT CAME LATER. MS. HUFF: WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT OUR OPENING RECEPTION. THERE IS AN AREA IN SANTA FE CALLED MUSEUM HILL, AND WE WILL BE HAVING THE RECEPTION THERE. WE'RE STILL TRYING TO DECIDE ABOUT WHETHER IT'S GOING TO BE AN INSIDE OR OUTSIDE RECEPTION. BECAUSE, AGAIN, LIKE MONTANA, THE WEATHER CAN CHANGE AT ANY MOMENT. BUT THE SUNSET IN SANTA FE CAN BE AMAZING, AND SO THE SPOT IS PERFECT FOR VIEWING THE MOUNTAINS AND 247 THE SUNSET. THESE ARE POSSIBLE EXCURSIONS. THE LIST IS LONG. BUT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED FIVE THAT WILL LIKELY -- THERE WILL PROBABLY BE FIVE OR TEN MORE, AND WE'LL TRY AT SOME POINT TO NARROW THEM DOWN AND SEE WHICH IS THE BEST OPTIONS TO OFFER TO DISPENSE. MR. STERN: I DIDN'T KNOW, MAYBE I'M SLOW, BUT YESTERDAY DURING THE AUCTION I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE SHOULD DO -- CEASD MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER DOING WITH THE DONATIONS, THE USE OF REORTS OR WHATNOT, WE SHOULD MAKE SURE THAT MAYBE PERHAPS WE HAVE THOSE ONE YEAR IN ADVANCE. AND I SHOULD HAVE PUT SOME OF THESE DOWN FROM SANTA FE SO THAT WHEN YOU BUY SOMETHING, THEN NEXT YEAR, EITHER BEFORE OR AFTER THE CONFERENCE, YOU WOULD HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAXIMIZE YOUR COUPONS, AND THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING, CERTAINLY, FOR CONSIDERATION AS FAR AS A FUND-RAISER. SO NEXT YEAR MAYBE IOWA COULD BRING SOME GIFTS, SOME THINGS TO 248 DONATE THAT COULD MAXIMIZE THEIR PARTICIPANTS VISIT THE FOLLOWING YEAR. SO THE TIMING, THAT'S WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE. MS. HUFF: THAT'S VERY GOOD. TALKING ABOUT MAKING AN ACTUAL QUESTIONNAIRE TO DISTRIBUTE, BUT WE DECIDED AGAINST THAT IDEA. AND WE THOUGHT WE WOULD JUST ASK YOU FOR SOME LIFE FEEDBACK RIGHT NOW. OF COURSE YOU'RE WELCOME TO PUT ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE DOWN ON PAPER. DO YOU WANT LIVE OR ON PAPER? WHAT DO YOU THINK? I THINK WE SHOULD JUST GO INTO GROUPS. OKAY; LET'S DO THAT. WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO THEN.... MR. STERN: IN THE SAME GROUPS THAT YOU'RE SITTING IN PRESENTLY, IF YOU WOULD TAKE A MINUTE JUST TO BRAINSTORM OUT. I'LL GIVE YOU MAYBE FIVE MINUTES. GO. (WORKOUT SESSION HELD.) MR. STERN: COULD I GET EVERYONE'S ATTENTION MOMENTARILY? THE TIME IS RUNNING OUT, SO IF 249 EVERYONE COULD GIVE THEIR CONFERENCE FEEDBACK TO CINDY, THERE IS ONE PERSON WHO JUST SAID SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO 101. I THOUGHT I'D LET YOU KNOW THAT ONE THING THAT'S VERY POPULAR IN SANTA FE IS CHILE, GREEN CHILE, SPECIFICALLY. IF YOU COME TO -- GO TO A RESTAURANT IN NEW MEXICO, YOU NEED TO BE PREPARED TO ANSWER THIS IMPORTANT QUESTION. THE WAITRESS WILL ASK YOU, WITHOUT QUESTION, DO YOU WANT RED OR GREEN. AND IF YOU WANT BOTH, THE ANSWER IS CHRISTMAS. SO IF YOU WANT BOTH RED AND GREEN CHILE, YOU'LL TELL THEM YOU WANT CHRISTMAS. I'LL LET YOU KNOW THAT. AND BOTH THE NEW MEXICAN PEOPLE ARE HERE. IF YOU'RE NOT INTO HOT FOOD, ASK FOR IT ON THE SIDE, NOT HAVE IT MIXED IN WITH YOUR MALE. SO WITH THAT SAID, THANK YOU FOR YOUR FEEDBACK. AND ANYTHING ELSE YOU HAVE AS FAR AS THOUGHTS ABOUT NEXT YEAR, PLEASE E-MAIL MYSELF OR THE OFFICE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION THIS MORNING, AND ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR DAY. 250 MR. GETTEL: I WANT TO THANK RON AND CINDY FOR LEADING OUR DISCUSSION THIS MORNING; THANK YOU. A COUPLE OF COMMENTS, AND RON IS TALKING ABOUT PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR'S CONFERENCE. I WANT TO, AGAIN, SAY THAT THIS SCHOOL AND OUR STAFF RECEIVED TREMENDOUS SUPPORT FROM ALL OF THE MEMBER SCHOOLS AND PROGRAMS, IN TERMS OF SPONSORSHIPS. WE MADE THOSE PHONE CALLS AND YOU RESPONDED. AND I'M ENCOURAGING YOU TO DO EXACTLY THE SAME THING NEXT YEAR. WHEN RON CALLS YOU FOR SUPPORT FOR THE CONFERENCE, BE GENEROUS. BECAUSE THE MONEY THAT COMES IN FOR THIS CONFERENCE GOES DIRECTLY TO OUR OPERATIONS. AND I CAN'T THINK OF A MORE IMPORTANT TIME THAN NOW TO HAVE SUFFICIENT FUNDS TO DO OUR WORK. IT'S CRITICAL. AND THIS IS ONE WAY THAT MANY SCHOOLS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE WORK OF CEASD BY SPONSORSHIPS. SO ANOTHER SPONSOR THIS MORNING, THE ALABAMA INSTITUTE, IS SPONSORING OUR BREAK WHICH IS NOW UNTIL TEN O'CLOCK. 251 AT TEN O'CLOCK WE WILL COME BACK IN HERE FOR OUR LAST PRESENTATION, OUR WRAP UP. AND JOE FINNEGAN HAS SOME ANNOUNCEMENTS. MR. FINNEGAN: WHERE'S RON? HAS HE LEFT? HE'S RIGHT THERE. SO NOW YOU WORK FOR THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, I GUESS, IN SANTA FE AS A SIDELINE POSITION. YOU AND CINDY SOUNDED LIKE YOU EITHER WORK FOR THE CHAMBER OR THE VISITORS AND CONVENTION BUREAU, ONE OR THE OTHER THIS MORNING. SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW THAT WE HAVE A LITTLE FRIENDLY COMPETITION, WE, MEANING ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA AND SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO, AS WHICH IS THE OLDEST CITY IN NORTH AMERICA. WE, IN ST. AUGUSTINE, OF COURSE, CLAIM THAT FAME. WE ARE THE OLDEST CONTINUOUSLY OCCUPIED CITY IN THE UNITED STATES, NOT NORTH AMERICA, IN THE UNITED STATES. SANTA FE SAYS THEY ARE, BUT WE HAVE RECORDS TO PROVE THAT WE ARE. WE'RE ALSO VERY EUROPEAN. MR. STERN: WE'RE THE OLDEST CAPITAL CITY IN THE U.S.. 252 MR. FINNEGAN: WE'LL CONCEDE TO THAT. MR. STERN: AND THE HIGHEST. MR. FINNEGAN: NOW, IF YOU FIND THOSE HOTEL RATES A LITTLE OUT OF REACH BUT YOU STILL WANT TO GO NEXT YEAR TO A BEAUTIFUL HISTORIC EUROPEAN CITY, I CAN FIND YOU BETTER RATES THAN -- NO, FORGET IT. YOU HAVE TO GO TO SANTA FE NEXT YEAR. ONE LAST TIME TO CONSIDER PROGRAM MEMBERSHIP IN ASDC. SHERRY DOWLING IS STILL IN THE EXHIBIT ROOM. MANY OF THE OTHER EXHIBITORS HAVE LEFT, BUT SHE'S STILL IN THERE. SO WHEN YOU GO IN FOR YOUR BREAK, PLEASE CHAT WITH HER AND TALK ABOUT PROGRAM MEMBERSHIP FOR YOUR SCHOOL IN ASDC. OUR NEXT AND FINAL SESSION WILL BE A DIALOGUE UP HERE. SO FOR THE TEN OR TWELVE PEOPLE -- ASDC; THAT'S RIGHT. THE LEARNING CENTER IS A MEMBER OF THAT ORGANIZATION. FOR THE NEXT SESSION, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A DIALOGUE. TWO PEOPLE WILL BE 253 HAVING A DIALOGUE UP HERE ON THE STAGE. SO FOR THE TEN OR TWELVE PEOPLE WHO ARE LEFT IN THE ROOM, YOU MIGHT WANT TO MOVE UP CLOSER TO THE FRONT FOR THE NEXT SESSION. ED, ANYTHING? ENJOY YOUR BREAK. (CONFERENCE IN RECESS FROM 9:51 A.M. TO 10:05 A.M.) MR. BOSSO: HELLO, EVERYONE. CAN I PLEASE GET YOUR ATTENTION AND THE ATTENTION OF OTHERS. HELLO, HELLO. CAN WE PLEASE HELP GET THE OTHERS' ATTENTION? PLEASE, IF WE COULD JUST GET A HAND WAVE, GET SOME ATTENTION GOING. HELLO? WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. OUR LAST PRESENTATION -- I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE ON A SCHEDULE FOR THEIR FLIGHTS TAKING OFF. THIS PRESENTATION IS GOING TO BE VALUABLE AND SEEN AS A DIALOGUE BETWEEN JOE FINNEGAN WHO HAS BEEN A VERY EXPERIENCED MEMBER OF OUR COMMUNITY IN THIS FIELD, SEEING AND DOING LOTS. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE JAMIE TUCKER WHO'S GOING TO REPRESENT 254 THE NEW GENERATION AS A YOUNG SUPERINTENDENT GOING THROUGH THIS FIELD. SO WE'RE GOING TO DISCUSS SOME PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE, SEE HOW THEY RELATE AND WHERE WE'RE GOING. AND IT'S GOING TO BE THROUGH A DIALOGUE FORMAT. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF PRESENTATIONS WHERE WE ARE JUST BEING SPOKEN TO. SO WITH THIS FORMAT IT'S GOING TO BE NICE. BECAUSE WHEN WE WENT TO THE NASD CONFERENCE IN THE FALL WE ALWAYS HAD THESE TYPES OF CONVERSATIONS. AND AS USUAL, NASD USES THE DIALOGUE IN THEIR CONFERENCE. SO WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE REALLY NICE TO TAKE THAT FORMAT FROM THEIR IDEA. SO IT'S NOT A NEW IDEA. PAULO FRIERE, A VERY FAMOUS PHILOSOPHER/TEACHER HAS WORKED IN THE FIELD, AND HE DOES THE WORK WITH THE DIALOGUE. HE DOESN'T BELIEVE IN AUDIENCE PRESENTATIONS. HE IS A STRONG BELIEVER OF THE DIALOGUE FORMAT. SO WE THOUGHT WE WOULD DO THAT. IF WE CAN PLEASE WELCOME UP JOE FINNEGAN AND JAMIE TUCKER. MR. FINNEGAN: HI. 255 MR. TUCKER: WELL, HELLO. MR. FINNEGAN: GOOD MORNING, YOUNG MAN. I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE YOU UP AND READY SO EARLY THIS MORNING.. MR. TUCKER: IT'S A TOUGH THING GETTING IT TOGETHER. MR. FINNEGAN: YEAH, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I KNOW YOUR GENERATION, YOU SURE LIKE YOUR SLEEP, DON'T YOU. MR. TUCKER: WE PARTY HARD ALL NIGHT LONG. MR. FINNEGAN: YOU DO, I KNOW. MR. TUCKER: YOU'RE IN BED EARLY, I SUPPOSE. MR. FINNEGAN: I KNOW. I CAN'T KEEP UP WITH YOU YOUG GUYS. MR. TUCKER: YOU WERE SAYING YESTERDAY THAT YOU'VE BEEN COMING TO THE CEASD CONFERENCES SINCE WHEN; 1973? MR. FINNEGAN: (Nods Head.) MR. TUCKER: WOW, 1973. MR. FINNEGAN: AND DO YOU REMEMBER THAT YEAR, JAMIE? MR. TUCKER: LET'S SEE. I WAS A FRESHMAN IN HIGH SCHOOL. 256 MR. FINNEGAN: WELL, IT WAS MY FIRST CONFERENCE, AND IT WAS CONNECTED AT THAT TIME TO CAID AND CAD AND CEASD. THAT CONFERENCE WAS HOSTED IN INDIANAPOLIS AND, BOY, I WAS THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK. I HAD JUST GRADUATED FROM THE LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM AT CSUN, YEAH, THE LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM. I ATTENDED THE CONFERENCE IN INDIANAPOLIS. THAT FALL, IN 1973, I MOVED TO CONNECTICUT TO THE AMERICAN SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF. AND I WAS -- WELL, I WAS THE UPPER SCHOOL PRINCIPAL. THAT'S WHAT IT WAS CALLED AT THAT TIME. MR. TUCKER: WHICH? WHAT WAS THAT; 1973? WOW. MR. FINNEGAN: YEAH, '73. THAT YEAR, IT WAS MY FIRST YEAR AT BOTH CAD -- CAID AND CEASD. AND THE BIGGEST THING THAT HAPPENED THAT YEAR WAS BOB DEVILLA. HE WAS ELECTED AS PRESIDENT OF CAID, THE FIRST TIME IN CAID'S HISTORY IN ELECTING A DEAF PERSON. MR. TUCKER: WOW. MR. FINNEGAN: AND THAT WAS THE 257 BEGINNING OF MORE DEAF INDIVIDUALS TAKING LEADERSHIP ROLES. THAT WAS THE BEGINNING. THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THIS BUSINESS. MR. TUCKER: WOW. I WAS THINKING ABOUT IN 1973. SO THAT MEANS HOW MANY YEARS WERE YOU AT THE AMERICAN SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF? MR. FINNEGAN: JUST ONE. JUST ONE YEAR. AND THEN THEY KICKED ME OUT. AND I MOVED TO FLORIDA, BECAME THE PRINCIPAL AT THE FLORIDA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND, PRINCIPAL THERE FOR FOUR YEARS. MR. TUCKER: SO THE AMERICAN SCHOOL. I'M ASKING BECAUSE IT SEEMS AS THOUGH AT THAT TIME IF I REMEMBER AT THE AMERICAN SCHOOL THEY WERE ALSO TAKING UP THE COLLEGE FAIR AT YOUR SCHOOL. AND THAT WAS A NEW THING THAT WAS HAPPENING. WE SAW THAT COMING AROUND THE COUNTRY FOR COLLEGE RECRUITMENT. AND INSTEAD OF COLLEGES GOING EVERYWHERE, THEY ENDED UP HAVING A FAIR. AND IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THE AMERICAN SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF WAS 258 DOING THAT. WAS THAT HISTORICAL, SOMETHING YOU REMEMBER? MR. FINNEGAN: WELL, I DON'T REMEMBER THAT YEAR SPECIFICALLY. IT MAY HAVE HAPPENED. I DON'T RECALL THAT HAPPENING AT ASD IN MY TIME. I DON'T RECALL. IT'S POSSIBLE. MR. TUCKER: THE REASON I REMEMBER IT IS BECAUSE I WENT TO THE FAIR, AND I WATCHED A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT SPEAKERS. I SAW NTID, GALLAUDET, THE NEW POST-SECONDARY PROGRAMS THAT WERE BEING ESTABLISHED AT VO-TECH AND OTHER SCHOOLS LIKE THAT, TVI. AND I KNOW THOSE CSUN, THERE WAS A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT SPEAKERS WHO SPOKE AT THAT CONFERENCE. IT WAS A COLLEGE FAIR, AND I REMEMBER IT WELL, BECAUSE ASD, A FEW OF MY STUDENTS -- EXCUSE ME -- A FEW OF MY PEERS WHO I KNEW FROM THE SPORTS WORLD WERE EXCUSING THEMSELVES TO GO TO THE SMOKING ROOM. AND I REMEMBER THAT THERE WAS A SMOKING ROOM BACK THEN. AND SO, YOU NOW, OF COURSE DEAF SCHOOLS THAT'S ENTIRELY NOT 259 ALLOWED. BUT I RECALL IT THEN. MR. FINNEGAN: OH, WOW. I DON'T REMEMBER THAT. I DON'T REMEMBER THAT AT ALL. MR. TUCKER: YEAH, THAT'S '73, '74. SO WERE YOU THERE? WERE YOU AT THE IEP THEN? MR. FINNEGAN: WELL, THAT WAS PUBLIC LAW. THAT WAS PL94142. WHEN THAT PASSED -- WELL, THEY IMPLEMENTED IN 1975 I WAS THE PRINCIPAL AT THE FLORIDA SCHOOL. AND THAT'S WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED. WE HAD TO FACE A WHOLE NEW TIME. GALLAUDET -- IT WASN'T GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY, IT WAS GALLAUDET COLLEGE. AND THEY HAD A, OH, I DON'T KNOW, A TRAVELING TASK FORCE, WHAT HAVE YOU, A GROUP THAT TRAVELED TO VARIOUS SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF TO ASSIST THOSE SCHOOLS IN IMPLEMENTING THE PUBLIC LAW, THE 94142. AND ALSO ROZ ROSEN WAS THE CHAIRPERSON AT THAT TIME OF THAT GROUP. AND I HAD INVITED HER TO FLORIDA. SHE HOSTED SEVERAL WORKSHOPS FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FACULTY TO HELP US UNDERSTAND THE 260 IMPLICATIONS OF THAT LAW. MR. TUCKER: THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING. I WAS THINKING ABOUT IN 1975 WHEN I WAS A SOPHOMORE IN HIGH SCHOOL, YOU KNOW, I WAS DOING MY THING. THERE WAS NO PROGRAM LIKE THAT AT THE TIME. AND I UNDERSTOOD THAT WHEN THAT PASSED, ALL THE STATES HAD THREE YEARS, THEN, TO IMPLEMENT. THEY HAD A TIME PERIOD LIMITATION, I THINK, FOR THOSE WHO GRADUATED IN 1972. SO THERE WERE NO IEP MEETINGS. MY SISTER WHO'S ALSO DEAF AND SHE'S AUTISTIC. WHAT'S YOUR SIGN FOR AUTISTIC? WHAT'S YOUR SIGN? MR. FINNEGAN: I BELIEVE WE SIGN IT THIS WAY. I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE ABOUT THAT SIGN. MR. TUCKER: SO I REMEMBER BECAUSE MY SISTER, SHE HAD NO SERVICES AT ALL, NOTHING FOR HER. AND MY SISTER WAS BORN IN 1960. AND SO THROUGH ALL THOSE YEARS, MY PARENTS WERE TRYING TO GET HER INTO MY HOMETOWN PUBLIC SCHOOL IN THE SPECIAL NEEDS PROGRAM. AND SHE WAS NOT ACCEPTED THERE. THEY TRIED TO 261 GET HER INTO A FEW DEAF SCHOOLS AROUND THE MASSACHUSETTS AREA, AND SHE WAS TURNED DOWN IN ALL OF THOSE. SO MY SISTER REALLY HAD NO FORMAL EDUCATION UNTIL THE AGE OF NINE. AND THAT WAS IN 1969. AT THAT POINT, MY MOTHER HAD A GOOD FRIEND, A NEIGHBOR'S FRIEND ACTUALLY, WHO TAUGHT MENTALLY RETARTED CLASSROOM HERE IN TOWN. IN OTHER WORDS ALL KIDS WHO MOSTLY HAD DOWN'S SYNDROME. AND THAT COMMUNITY WAS WILLING TO ACCEPT MY SISTER. AND MY MOTHER WAS WITH HER ALL THE TIME. AND MY MOM WAS SORT OF A TEACHER'S AIDE, WITHOUT PAY, JUST WENT TO SCHOOL WITH MY SISTER EVERY DAY FOR SEVERAL YEARS. AND EVEN THOUGH, OF COURSE, THE IEP'S WERE IN PLACE, EXCUSE ME, THERE WERE NO IEP'S IN PLACE, YOU KNOW I WISH THERE WERE, BECAUSE MY SISTER REALLY DID NOT GET ANY SERVICES FOR THE FIRST TEN YEARS OF HER LIFE. MR. FINNEGAN: WOW. AND THAT LAW, JAMIE, THAT WAS REALLY -- THE INTENTION BEHIND IT WAS TO INCLUDE PEOPLE JUST LIKE YOUR SISTER. THAT WAS 262 THE INTENT. BECAUSE SO MANY CHILDREN WERE DENIED SERVICES. AND THAT WAS THE BASIC REASON FOR THAT LAW. AND AS YOU AND I BOTH KNOW, IT ALSO HAD A HUGE IMPACT IN OTHER AREAS, YOU KNOW. FOR YOUR SISTER IT WAS VERY HELPFUL. THAT LAW IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW THAT WAS REALLY HELPFUL TO KIDS LIKE YOUR SISTER. MR. TUCKER: I WONDER AS WELL, WITH THE CEASD YOU JOINED IN 1973, I WONDER HOW DID THE ORGANIZATION RESPOND TO THAT LEGISLATION, THAT NEW LAW? WERE YOU TRYING TO INTERVENE THE NEGOTIATIONS? WERE YOU SENDING A REP TO THAT TABLE? WHAT WAS HAPPENING? MR. FINNEGAN: WELL, YOU KNOW, I WAS A KID. MR. TUCKER: IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE YOU AS A KID, HONESTLY. MR. FINNEGAN: WELL, THANK YOU. YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE SAY I WAS BORN OLD, SO -- SO, YOU KNOW, I WASN'T ALL THAT FAMILIAR WITH THE INSIDE WORK THAT WAS GOING ON AT THE TIME WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION. WE DID HAVE A NATIONAL 263 OFFICE. WE HAD A HUGE NATIONAL OFFICE THAT WAS IN DC, FUNDED PRIMARILY BY CONTRACTORS, PEOPLE IN THE GOVERNMENT WHO CONTRACT OUT FOR CAPTION FILMS, YOU KNOW. AND THERE WERE ABOUT 20 PEOPLE WHO WORKED AT THE NATIONAL OFFICE AT THAT TIME. AND THIS IS JUST GIVING YOU SOME HISTORY, HERE, JAMIE. BUT THE NATIONAL OFFICE, AT THAT POINT IN TIME, WAS CALLED AED, THE ASSOCIATION OF EDUCATION FOR THE DEAF, I BELIEVE, AED. AND THERE WERE TWO NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS; CAID AND CEASD. AND THOSE TWO ORGANIZATIONS OWNED THAT CORPORATION. AND IT WAS THROUGH AED THAT WE ACTUALLY APPLIED FOR FEDERAL FUNDING. SO WE HAD A NATIONAL OFFICE, FULL-TIME STAFF, AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, YOU KNOW. AND I'M NOT SURE, YOU KNOW, HOW THAT OFFICE WORKED WITH THE SENATE AND THE LEGISLATURE AND THE HOUSE. I'M NOT SURE. IF IN '75 OR '74, I DON'T KNOW IF WE LOBBIED AS STRONGLY AS WE DO NOW. YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW. 264 MY FIRST RECOLLECTION OF CEASD IS THAT WE DIDN'T BEGIN LOBBYING UNTIL ABOUT TEN YEARS LATER. WE HAD A FELLOW NAMED JACK DUNCAN. MR. TUCKER: I REMEMBER HIM. MR. FINNEGAN: YEAH. HE SERVED CEASD, AND THERE WERE MANY CLIENTS THAT HE HAD THAT WERE UNDER VR. THEY WERE BIG LOBBYISTS FOR THE VR GROUP. SOMEHOW WE FOUND HIM, CEASD FOUND HIM, AND HE STARTED WORKING FOR US. BUT, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHEN THAT -- '74, '75. YOU KNOW, I WASN'T THAT INVOLVED AT THAT TIME. I WAS ELECTED TO THE BOARD IN THE LATE '70S. THAT'S WHEN I WAS ELECTED. AND ED LOWELL WAS PRESIDENT AT THE TIME, AND HE WAS THE DIRECTOR OF THE JOHN TRACY CLINIC -- MR. TUCKER: WOW. MR. FINNEGAN: -- YEAH, IN CALIFORNIA. HE WAS THE PRESIDENT, AND HE WAS ELECTED AT THAT TIME. SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING '70S, LATE '70S WHEN I STARTED SERVING ON THIS BOARD. SO IN 265 THE MID '70S, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH THE WORK OF THE ORGANIZATION. MR. TUCKER: THAT'S INTERESTING. WHEN I WAS TALKING WITH SUPERINTENDENT CLOPPING -- AND THIS WAS BEFORE WHEN I WAS A TEACHER AT FREMONT, THAT WAS MY VERY FIRST TEACHING JOB -- AND I WAS ASKING HIM ABOUT WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THE EARLY DAYS. AND THE IDEA HAS CHANGED SO MANY THINGS, YOU KNOW. THE ODDS BALL SORT OF GONE BACKWARDS OR OPPOSITE TO WHAT THEY WERE ORIGINALLY. AND SO I WONDER IF YOU WOULD AGREE THAT THAT WAS REALLY AN INSTRUMENTAL TURNING POINT. MR. FINNEGAN: YEP. WHAT I REMEMBER HEARING AFTER THE -- YOU KNOW, AFTER THAT FAMOUS LAW WAS PASSED, WHAT I REMEMBER HEARING WHEN I STARTED COMING TO THIS CONVENTION HERE WAS THAT CEASD WAS INVOLVED A LITTLE BIT WITH THE PROPOSAL TO THE LEGISLATURE. HOWEVER, THEY WERE TOLD BY STAFF PEOPLE ON THE HILL THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT 266 INTERESTED IN DEAF -- IT WASN'T GOING TO INTERFERE WITH DEAF EDUCATION AT ALL. THERE WAS NOT GOING TO BE ANY IMPACT ON THE SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF; DON'T WORRY ABOUT THAT. THAT'S WHAT I HEARD. I REMEMBER HEARING THAT AFTER '75 DURING THESE MEETINGS THAT WE HAD. NOW, WHETHER THAT'S TRUE OR NOT, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE JUST MISSED THE BOAT. I THINK WE WERE ASLEEP BEHIND THE WHEEL; I DON'T KNOW. BUT I DO KNOW, OBVIOUSLY, WE DID NOT HAVE A HUNDRED PERCENT INVOLVEMENT AT THE TIME. WE JUST DIDN'T GET IN IT. MR. TUCKER: WOW. MR. FINNEGAN: YEAH. MR. TUCKER: SO IN THE '70S WHAT WAS CEASD LOOKING LIKE? WHAT WAS THE ORGANIZATION DOING? SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU SEE TODAY? MR. FINNEGAN: OH, NO, NO, SIR, NOT AT ALL. WELL, PRIMARILY, I CAN TELL YOU THERE WERE NO WOMEN EXCEPT FOR -- MR. TUCKER: NUNS. MR. FINNEGAN: -- THE NUNS. 267 MR. TUCKER: NUNS, MY. MR. FINNEGAN: YEAP, BECAUSE ALL THE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF WERE VERY INVOLVED IN THE ORGANIZATION. SO THERE WERE NO WOMEN EXCEPT FOR THE NUNS AND MAYBE VERY FEW, VERY FEW DEAF PEOPLE. AND THE MEMBERS WHO COULD SIGN, THEY WERE OUR VOLUNTEER INTERPRETERS FOR OUR DEAF MEMBERS. YEAH. MR. TUCKER: OH, MY. MR. FINNEGAN: ALL WHITE MEN, PRETTY MUCH FOR THE MOST PART. AND BACK THEN WE MET ANNUALLY. ON THE ODD YEARS WE'D COME TOGETHER IN JUNE, AND WE'D DO THIS IN CONJUNCTION WITH CAID. SO MAYBE TWO DAYS PRIOR TO THAT CONFERENCE, TO THE CEASD CONFERENCE, WE WOULD MEET. AND THEN THE EVEN-NUMBERED YEARS WE WOULD HAVE THE CAESD MEETINGS ONLY. AND THOSE MEETINGS WERE SPONSORED BY SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF. MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, THE MEETINGS WERE HOSTED ON THE CAMPUS OF A PARTICULAR SCHOOL, DEFINITELY NOT IN A HOTEL OR A CONFERENCE CENTER, HOSTED ON 268 SCHOOL GROUNDS. MR. TUCKER: AND WHAT WAS THE CONFERENCE PROGRAM LIKE? YOU KNOW, THIS WEEKEND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE MANY IMPACTING ISSUES THAT ARE HAPPENING. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT EARLY INTERVENTION. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TEACHER COMPETENCY, CERTIFICATION, ACCREDITATION, ACCREDITATION PLANS. WE'VE LOOKED AT THE STRATEGIC PLAN. WHAT DID IT LOOK LIKE IN THOSE TIMES? MR. FINNEGAN: WE WERE MUCH MORE OF A NARROW FOCUS. THE SPEAKERS WERE MOSTLY MEMBERS OF THE ORGANIZATION. SO BASICALLY WE WERE TALKING TO OURSELVES. THE BUSINESS MEETINGS WERE ALL DAY. MR. TUCKER: ALL DAY? MR. FINNEGAN: OH, YEAH, ALL DAY. MR. TUCKER: ALL DAY. MR. FINNEGAN: WELL, I COULD BE EXAGGERATING HERE A BIT, JAMIE. BUT I CAN TELL YOU THE BUSINESS MEETINGS WERE DEFINITELY FOUR TO FIVE HOURS LONG. THE BOARD DIDN'T DO AS MUCH AT THAT TIME. SO REALLY, IT WAS A BUSINESS 269 ORGANIZATION, YOU KNOW. EVERYONE IN THE -- EVERY MEMBER WAS INVOLVED AT THAT TIME. AND FOR THE MOST PART, THE CONFERENCE WAS TAKEN UP BY BUSINESS MEETINGS AND A LOT OF GOLFING. YEAH, A LOT OF GOLFING AND ACTIVITIES. AND WE'VE SEEN THIS SHIFT, OF COURSE, FOR THE BETTER, IN MY OPINION. BUT BACK THEN IT WAS AN ORGANIZATION OF HAVING A LOT OF FUN. IT WASN'T AS FORMAL. WE DIDN'T HAVE THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TIME. WE DIDN'T HAVE THE PROFESSIONAL SPEAKERS, YOU KNOW. AND I REALLY THINK THAT KIND OF ACTIVITY HAPPENED OUT IN THE HALLWAY. WELL, YOU KNOW, OR IN THE BAR OR IN THE RESTAURANT. YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHERE WE GOT TOGETHER AND TALKED ABOUT AND SHARED IDEAS. WE DIDN'T HAVE -- YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T HAVE FORMAL MEETINGS. IT'S NOT LIKE IT IS TODAY AT ALL. MR. TUCKER: MY FIRST CONFERENCE WAS 20 YEARS AGO AFTER YOURS, 1993, IN BALTIMORE AT THE MARYLAND SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF. THEY WERE THE HOST. AND IT WAS A 270 WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL CONFERENCE FOR ME. VERY MUCH ENJOYED MYSELF. THERE WAS A LOT OF SOCIALIZING WHICH WAS GOOD, BUT IT WAS A LOT SPOKEN IN ENGLISH, AND IT WAS HARD FOR ME TO FULLY PARTICIPATE. THERE WAS A LOT OF TALKING. I WANTED TO BE INVOLVED IN A LOT OF THE CONVERSATIONS, BUT I REALLY WASN'T INVITED TO THOSE. CERTAINLY, THE SIGNING WOULD MAKE IT EASIER FOR ME TO PARTICIPATE. THERE WERE VERY FEW ADMINISTRATORS WHO WERE DEAF AT THAT TIME. SO I JOINED WITH THE CAID. OF COURSE THERE WERE A LOT MORE DEAF PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THAT ORGANIZATION AND I HAD MORE ACCESS TO THE CONVERSATIONS. I REMEMBER THAT STEVE NOBER DID A BEAUTIFUL PRESENTATION THERE ABOUT CED AT THAT TIME. AT THAT TIME I WAS NOT A MEMBER OF THE NAD, AND JUST A MEMBER OVER THE ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL ASSOCIATION. AND THERE WERE A FEW BOLD SPEAKERS LIKE JOE FISCHGRUND WHO ANNOUNCED THAT IF CED WAS NOT GOING TO ALLOW NAD TO BE A PART OF IT, THAT CEASD 271 WAS GOING TO WITHDRAW ITS MEMBERSHIP. AND THAT WAS A POWERFUL PIECE OF INFORMATION. EVEN THOUGH I DID FEEL LIKE AN OUTSIDER IN CEASD, I SAW SEVERAL INDIVIDUALS HOW REALLY MADE A STRONG STAND IN SUPPORTING THE DEAF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN DEAF EDUCATION AND THE DEAF EDUCATION PROCESS. SO NOW, OF COURSE, THE CEASD HAS GROWN TO INCLUDE SEVEN ORGANIZATIONS, OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WHO ADVOCATE ON A SIMILAR AGENDA THAT WE HAVE TODAY. MR. FINNEGAN: YOU KNOW, ONE THING I REMEMBER ABOUT THAT CONFERENCE IN '93, YOU KNOW, AND YOU MAY NOT REMEMBER THIS, BUT THERE WAS ONE NIGHT BEHIND THE HOTEL THERE WAS A SHOOTING. YEAH. MR. TUCKER: WHAT? MR. FINNEGAN: YEAH, THERE WAS A SHOOTING. IT WAS WILD. IT WAS WILD. MR. TUCKER: I DIDN'T KNOW. MR. FINNEGAN: IT WAS ON THE NEWS THE NEXT DAY. AND IT ACTUALLY WHERE 272 SOME OF US HAD ACTUALLY EATEN -- WELL, IT WASN'T A FANCY RESTAURANT, BUT IT WAS A PRETTY NICE RESTAURANT. IT WAS A NICE, SEAFOOD RESTAURANT. AND THERE WAS A SHOOTING THERE THAT NIGHT. SO THAT'S WHEN THE TWO ORGANIZATIONS CAME TOGETHER. AND THEY STILL MET TOGETHER. MR. TUCKER: THE LAST JOINT CONFERENCE WAS IN HARTFORD, AND THAT WAS IN -- MR. FINNEGAN: 'NINTEY-SEVEN. MR. TUCKER: 'NINTEY-SEVEN. A SO DO YOU THINK THERE WOULD BE ANOTHER JOINT CONFERENCE? I WONDER -- YOU HAVING SEEN THINGS OVER THE HISTORY LINE, I WONDER IF YOU THINK BEING ON OUR OWN IS AS ADMINISTRATORS ONLY OR IF JOINT CONFERENCES MAKE SENSE. MR. FINNEGAN: WELL, IT'S HARD TO PREDICT. THE LAST CAID MEETING RECENTLY WAS IN '99 IN L.A. AND THEN WE STOPPED. AND THEN LAST YEAR, LET'S SAY, YEAH, JUNE, WE MET AGAIN IN RENO. AND CAID PLANS TO MEET AGAIN IN JUNE OF '09 AT GALLAUDET. GALLAUDET WILL BE THE HOST. 273 SO THERE'S CERTAINLY A NEED FOR, YOU KNOW, A NATIONAL TEACHERS' CONFERENCE. THAT'S BEEN MISSING SINCE -- WELL, WE HAVEN'T HAD THAT FROM 1999 TO 2007. SO, YOU KNOW, CAID IS BACK AND STRONG, IT SEEMS. SO I'D LIKE TO SEE THEM CONTINUE TO HOST THOSE CONFERENCES. AND I THINK THAT WILL SATISFY THE NEEDS OF THE TEACHERS. NOW, THE QUESTION IS, CAN CAID AND CEASD MEET TOGETHER? YOU KNOW, IT'S OBVIOUSLY A BOARD DECISION. BUT IT SEEMS THAT OUR ANNUAL MEETINGS ARE GOING SO WELL, THE TIME OF YEAR THAT WE HOST OUR MEETINGS, WE NOW HAVE A PROFIT. WE CAN'T SHARE THAT PROFIT. SO IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE THE JOINT MEETINGS AGAIN. OF COURSE, THAT'S ENTIRELY UP TO THE BOARD. BUT I THINK WE'RE DOING FINE BY OURSELVES. YOU KNOW, MAYBE CAID WILL HOST THEIR MEETINGS IN THE SUMMERTIME, AND THEY CAN HOST THOSE MEETINGS FOR PROFIT. AND SO I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, DIFFICULT FOR US. WHAT DO YOU THINK? 274 MR. TUCKER: CEASD HAS LIKE BEEN AROUND SINCE THE 1800S. AND IT'S BEEN MOSTLY AN ADMINISTRATORS' ORGANIZATION, THE ONLY ONE IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN. AND ALSO THE OLDEST SPECIAL EDUCATION ORGANIZATION IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. THAT'S REALLY QUITE IMPRESSIVE. AND SOMETIMES I THINK WHEN I COME HERE I DO FEEL THAT SENSE OF HISTORY THAT, YOU KNOW, THE -- ALTHOUGH OF COURSE THE AGENDA IS DIFFERENT. AND THE SPIRIT IS STILL THERE THOUGH, THE SPIRIT OF SUPPORTING SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF, DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN. AND THERE ARE, OF COURSE, MANY CHALLENGES TO COME OVER TIME. AND I'M STARTING -- I'M THINKING ABOUT MYSELF AS A STUDENT AT THE SCHOOL IN VERMONT. MR. FINNEGAN: YEP. MR. TUCKER: AND YOU REMEMBER CLINE? MR. FINNEGAN: VERY WELL. MR. TUCKER: HE WAS THE SUPERINTENDENT WHEN I WAS -- MY HEADMASTER. AND WHEN I WAS ATTENDING 275 SCHOOL THERE, I REMEMBER HIS MANAGEMENT STYLE, HIS APPROACH TO STUDENTS, HIS WAY WITH FACULTY, WITH PARENTS, WITH STAFF. AND I DO HAVE A MEMORY OF THAT. AND NOW IN MY LIFE, AS I GO THROUGH MY PROFESSION AND MY CAREER, I SEE SO MANY THINGS THAT ARE DIFFERENT ABOUT HOW THINGS ARE DONE. YOU KNOW, HE WAS VERY MUCH MADE ALL THE DECISIONS HIMSELF. AND HE HAD A PROPER SIGN NAME, OF COURSE. BUT WE CALLED HIM MR. NO, YOU KNOW, IN INSIDE CIRCLES. YOU KNOW, HE COULD BE A JOKER AND WE HAD GOOD TIMES AND WHATNOT. BUT AS FAR AS A POLICY AND THE SYSTEMS AND COMMUNICATION WENT TO APPROACH HIM AND HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT CERTAIN THINGS, HE WOULD GIVE IT A COUPLE OF SECONDS OF CONSIDERATION AND THEN HE WOULD SAY NO AND THAT WOULD BE THE END OF THAT, AND THAT WAS THAT. SO IT WAS A VERY POWERFUL POSITION THAT HE WAS IN. AND I SEE NOW, OBVIOUSLY, THERE NEEDS TO BE A TASK FORCE, THERE NEEDS TO BE CONVERSATION, THERE NEEDS TO BE 276 CONVERSATION FROM THE DIFFERENT CONSTITUANTS OR STAKEHOLDERS. AND WE SEE THAT AS A PROCESS MODEL MORE SO AND AN OWNERSHIP MODEL TO ARRIVING AT DECISION MAKING. SO ONCE THOSE PIECES ARE IN PLACE, THEN A DECISION CAN COME. SO, REALLY, THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE. MR. FINNEGAN: OUR BUSINESS LEADERSHIP AND ADMINISTRATION HAS CHANGED SO MUCH IN THE PAST 25 YEARS, 30 YEARS. AND SOME MAY WISH FOR THE -- YOU KNOW, FOR THE GOOD OLD DAYS, JUST LIKE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW. I DON'T THINK THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN. I THINK CEASD IS STILL VITAL AND RELEVANT TO THIS PROFESSION, MAYBE MORE SO NOW THAN 20 YEARS AGO, 25 YEARS AGO. I THINK THAT WITH THE CURRENT BOARD AND THE CURRENT ACTIVE MEMBERS, THAT THIS ORGANIZATION HAS A CRITICAL ROLE IN HELPING OUR SCHOOLS IDENTIFY AND TO FIND THEIR PLACE IN THIS EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND ALONG THIS CONTINUUM, YOU KNOW. AND THAT VARIES FROM REGION TO REGION, SCHOOL TO SCHOOL. 277 AND, QUITE FRANKLY, SOMETIMES IT'S BEEN VERY DEPRESSING TO SEE SO MANY SCHOOLS STRUGGLING AND SURVIVE. YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT SCHOOLS TO SURVIVE SIMPLY FOR THE SAKE OF SURVIVAL. THAT'S RIDICULOUS. BUT IF THEY CAN PLAY AND THEY DO HAVE THIS IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE EDUCATIONAL LIFE OF DEAF CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES, THEN IT'S CRITICAL THAT THESE SCHOOLS SURVIVE, THAT OUR SCHOOLS SURVIVE. YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT COMES TO MIND, YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS A LITTLE EMBARRASSING TO ADMIT BECAUSE WE'RE UP HERE UP ON STAGE, BUT THE MICHIGAN SCHOOL, I SERVED ON THE REVIEW TEAM OF THAT SCHOOL. AND IT WASN'T FOR OUR ACCREDITATION. IT WAS A SEPARATE SITE VISIT. AND IT WAS IN 1999, A VERY DARK TIME, I HAVE TO SAY. BECAUSE THE SCHOOL WAS GOING TO CLOSE IN FIVE YEARS, OR WE THOUGHT. AND THE SCHOOL TODAY IS ALIVE AND STRONG. MR. TUCKER: IT'S DOING VERY WELL. 278 MR. FINNEGAN: YEAH. WELL, THAT'S IMPORTANT. BECAUSE IF THEY WERE ABLE TO DO SO, WHAT ARE THE LESSONS THAT CAN BE LEARNED FOR OUR OTHER SCHOOLS TO DO THE SAME? AND WHAT CAN OUR ORGANIZATION AND MEMBERS OF OUR ORGANIZATION -- WHAT KIND OF ROLE CAN WE PLAY IN THAT IN ASSISTING THAT SO OTHER SCHOOLS CAN SURVIVE IN THE SAME WAY; CONTINUE TO BE VIBRANT SCHOOLS FOR OUR KIDS, FOR OUR KIDS AND THEIR FAMILIES? THOSE KIDS AND THE FAMILIES IN MICHIGAN ARE GOING TO HAVE BETTER SERVICES NOW THAN THEY DID TEN YEARS AGO. SO THIS ORGANIZATION IS CRITICAL. I THINK WE'RE KEY TO THE SURVIVAL AND THE FUTURE OF DEAF EDUCATION IN THIS COUNTRY. MR. TUCKER: I WOULD AGREE. IT'S FUNNY. I'M CONSIDERING, YOU KNOW, MY YEARS AT THE VERMONT SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF THERE. AND BEFORE I WAS A MAINSTREAM STUDENT -- WHEN I WAS MAINSTREAM STUDENT I HAD NO INTERPRETER, NO SUPPORT WHATSOEVER. JUST THERE I WAS IN THE CLASSROOMS ON MY OWN, YOU KNOW. THAT 279 WAS THE OLD DAYS. MR. FINNEGAN: AND I'M SURE, YOU KNOW, THE GIRLS WENT AFTER YOU JAMIE. MR. TUCKER: WELL, I WAS ALONE. WELL. MAYBE I HELPED THEM. I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY. BUT I CALLED MYSELF SOLITAIRE. I WAS A SOLITARY STUDENT. I WAS FINDING MY WAY. BUT MY HOBBY FOR MANY YEARS WAS CYCLING. AND I CYCLED EVERYWHERE I WENT. AND FIRST TIME WHEN I WAS A FRESHMAN, I CYCLED TO THE SCHOOL, AND THEY LET ME KNOW THAT BICYCLES WERE NOT PERMITTED. BUT I CYCLED MY WHOLE LIFE. BICYCLES ARE NOT PERMITTED. SO AS A FRESHMAN, HERE I WAS ALSO WITHOUT MY BIKE. MY SOPHOMORE YEAR WHEN I GOT INVOLVED WITH THE STUDENT BODY GOVERNMENT, THERE WAS A PLAN AT THAT POINT, WE WERE GOING TO BRING FORWARD TO THE HEADMASTER, TO GET CYCLES APPROVED. AND THEY WERE APPROVED. AND I REMEMBER BEING SO HAPPY TO BE BACK ON MY BICYCLE. I REMEMBER THERE WERE A FEW OTHER ISSUES THAT I WASN'T THAT HAPPY ABOUT. 280 AND I KNOW MY PARENTS WERE NOT HAPPY ABOUT EITHER. OR I WOULD TELL MY PARENTS, AND MY DAD WOULD BE LIKE WELL, THERE YOU GO, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? HE DIDN'T REALLY HAVE MUCH TO OFFER. AND I THINK, AGAIN, TODAY, SOMETIMES -- YOU KNOW, ONE THIRD OF MY MEETINGS I WOULD SAY NOW ARE WITH PARENTS, PARENTS WHO ARE VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT MANY OF THE ISSUES THAT ARE RELEVANT FOR THEIR CHILDREN. IF I COULD SAY IT MIGHT EVEN BE TOO MUCH SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, INSTEAD OF LETTING PERHAPS THEIR CHILDREN TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES INSTEAD OF BEING INVOLVED WITH EVERYTHING. I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY. BUT BACK THEN PARENTS WERE NOT REALLY A PART OF THE PICTURE. THEY REALLY WEREN'T. PARENTS WERE -- YOU KNOW, THEY WERE RAISING A CHILD TO AN EXTENT, BUT THEY WERE OUTSIDE THE SYSTEM IN SOME WAY. AND NOW THEY ARE PART OF EVERYTHING. PARENTS ARE IN A DIFFERENT ROLE. MR. FINNEGAN: THAT'S THE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WE'VE SEEN IN OUR 281 FIELD. THAT'S ONE OF MANY, PARENT INVOLVEMENT AND THE ROLE OF PARENTS, I THINK, SINCE THAT PUBLIC LAW WAS PASSED AND NOW WE HAVE THE IEPS WHICH ARE A GOOD THING. HOWEVER, AS ADMINISTRATORS AND LEADERS, WE'RE FINALLY RECOGNIZING THAT WE NEED TO BE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR PARENTS AND OUR FAMILIES. BECAUSE ONCE WE HAVE THAT, IT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THE LIFE OF THE SCHOOL AND THE LIFE OF THEIR CHILD. IN MY EARLY DAYS, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE ATTITUDE WAS, YOU KNOW, WE SAID TO THE FAMILIES WE'LL TAKE CARE OF YOUR KIDS. DON'T YOU WORRY ABOUT A THING. BRING US YOUR CHILDREN, YOU GO AWAY NOW. IF WE HAVE A PROBLEM, WELL, WE'RE GOING TO EXPEL YOUR CHILD AND WE'LL SEND THEM BACK HOME AND YOU'LL SEE THEM THEN. I MEAN, THAT WAS KIND OF THE WAY IT WAS. WE DIDN'T WANT THE PARENTS ON CAMPUS. WE DIDN'T WANT THE PARENTS ASKING US QUESTIONS AND BOTHERING US. AND I THINK IT WAS REALLY -- YOU KNOW, IT WAS TERRIBLE, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT. I 282 CAN'T SAY THAT'S TRUE FOR ALL THE SCHOOLS, BUT I THINK AT THAT TIME THAT WAS JUST THE WAY IT WAS. THAT WAS THE ATTITUDE. YOU KNOW, PARENTS WERE A PAIN IN OUR NECK, PAIN IN OUR SIDE. JUST BRING US YOUR CHILDREN; WE'LL EDUCATE THEM. AND I THINK THIS CHANGE IN PARENT INVOLVEMENT IS NICE. I MEAN, WE KNOW THAT THE PARENT CAN BE SUCH A STRONG ADVOCATE, AN ALLY FOR THEIR CHILDREN, ABSOLUTELY, AND FOR THE SCHOOL. IF AND ONLY IF WE WORK TOGETHER AND WE WORK WITH THE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP. AND THAT IS DIFFERENT, JAMIE, FROM YOUR TIME AND GOING BACK TO MY TIME AS AN ADMINISTRATOR. MR. TUCKER: YOU MADE ME THINK OF LOTS OF THINGS, BRING BACK MEMORIES. WHEN I WAS AT A MAINSTREAM SCHOOL, IT WAS THE BEVERLY SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF. AND THAT WAS IN MASSACHUSETTS. IT WAS AN ORAL PROGRAM. AND I WENT THERE FROM PRE-K AND KINDERGARTEN FIRST GRADE AND WAS A PRACTICING ORALIST AT THE TIME. MY PARENTS -- MY FATHER GRADUATED FROM 283 THE CLARK SCHOOL, AND MY MOTHER GRADUATED FROM THE RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF, BOTH ORAL PEOPLE GROWING UP. AND THERE WAS SOME GESTURES AND WHATNOT THERE. WHEN I WENT TO SCHOOL I COULD SIGN. AND MY PRE-K TEACHER, SHE WAS WONDERFUL. YOU PERHAPS HAVE HEARD MANY STORIES ABOUT THE RULERS, THE GETTING CRACKED ON THE KNUCKLES WHEN YOU USE SIGN. I NEVER HAD THAT EXPERIENCE AT MY -- MR. FINNEGAN: WELL, BEVERLY WASN'T CATHOLIC, SO YOU WERE LUCKY. MR. TUCKER: PERHAPS THAT'S WHY. BUT, YOU KNOW, WHETHER -- THERE MIGHT BE A BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION. WHENEVER WE DID SIGN THEY WOULD SAY NO, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED TO SIT ON YOUR HANDS. SO YOU WOULD HAVE TO GO THUSLY AND CONTINUE TO DO YOUR COMMUNICATING FROM THERE. I DIDN'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THAT. IT HELPS ME NOW TO -- I REMEMBER THAT. WHEN I WOULD GO HOME THEN AND I'D ASK MY PARENTS WHY IS SIGNING NOT PERMITTED? AND THEY WOULD TRY TO EXPLAIN TO ME 284 ABOUT ORAL SCHOOL, WE USE ORAL PROGRAM AND AT HOME WE USE SIGN LANGUAGE, AND THAT'S THE WAY IT IS. AND AGAIN, THAT WAS THE WAY OF LIFE. THERE WAS NO CONCERN ABOUT THAT. SO THERE WAS NO SIGNING AT ALL AT THAT POINT. AND THEN WHEN I WENT TO THE AUSTINE SCHOOL, THEN THERE WAS SIGN EXACT ENGLISH. WELL, I WAS VERY PROFICIENT IN THE SIGN ENGLISH SYSTEM. I HAVE HAD -- HAS HAD, WATER WAS, WHAT WERE. I -- HIM AND HER, YOU KNOW, WHAT I'M SAYING. YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH ALL THESE INVENTED MANUAL SIGNS. AND I COULD GET BY IN THAT VERY WELL IN MY CLASSROOM. IN THE DORM, OF COURSE, WE WERE MUCH LESS INTERESTED IN THE INVENTED SIGNS. IN THE CLASS WE WERE QUICK TO USE THOSE INVENTED SIGNS AND KEPT UP PRETTY WELL. WE THOUGHT THAT WAS PRETTY COOL. AND WE THOUGHT WE WERE DOING IT RIGHT, WE WERE DOING IT THE RIGHT WAY. WE WERE USING THE RIGHT APPROACH AND WE WERE ANSWERING TO THE SYSTEM THAT WAS IN NEED. YOU KNOW, WHATEVER WAS BEING PUT TO US, WE 285 WERE DOING VERY WELL. AND IT WASN'T SO MUCH A NATURAL THING, BUT WE DID IT AND WE FELT WE DID IT WELL. SO 25, 30 YEARS LATER, I CAN IMAGINE YOU'VE SEEN A LOT OF CHANGES AND APPROACHES AND MODALITY IN ENGLISH CHOICES. MR. FINNEGAN: ABSOLUTELY; I'VE SEEN IT ALL. MY FIRST TEACHING JOB WAS AT THE MYSTIC ORAL SCHOOL IN CONNECTICUT. I WAS THERE FOR TWO YEARS. MR. TUCKER: THAT'S ORAL; RIGHT? YOU DIDN'T SIGN AT ALL AT THAT TIME? MR. FINNEGAN: NO, OH, NO. MR. TUCKER: SO YOU'RE MEAN. MR. FINNEGAN: NO, SIGN WASN'T PERMITTED. ONCE THAT DOOR CLOSED, THOUGH, YOU BET YOU, WE SIGNED. I SIGNED WITH THOSE KIDS, YOU KNOW. BUT THOSE KIDS WEREN'T KNOWLEDGEABLE. I MEAN, I WAS -- I WASN'T AS KNOWLEDGEABLE. I WAS A THIRD GRADE TEACHER, YOU KNOW. AND ONCE THAT DOOR WAS CLOSED -- JUST AN ASIDE, JAMIE, I DO REMEMBER ONE TIME -- WELL, IT WAS TWO 286 NIGHTS A WEEK. AND IN NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT, I WENT TO SIGN CLASS. AND THIS CLASS WAS TAUGHT BY NICKY PATRICK. AND HE WAS AN INTERPRETER FOR NTD, THE NATIONAL THEATRE FOR THE DEAF; OKAY? MR. TUCKER: WOW. MR. FINNEGAN: SO NICKY IS THE ONE WHO KIND OF BROUGHT THE PERFORMANCE END OF SIGN LANGUAGE AND SIGN LANGUAGE INTO OUR CLASS. AND I MET DORY MILES. MR. TUCKER: AN ACTOR. MR. FINNEGAN: AND FASCINATED WITH HER AND INVITED HER TO COME TO MY CLASS AND DO SOME STORY TELLING FOR THE KIDS. I'LL NEVER FORGET IT. AND SHE TOLD THE STORY OF JACK AND THE BEANSTALK. MR. TUCKER: JACK AND THE BEANSTALK. MR. FINNEGAN: YEP. SHE CAME INTO MY CLASSROOM. AND I TOLD THE PRINCIPAL THAT SHE WAS AN AUDIOLOGIST JUST VISITING FROM CANADA. THAT'S WHAT I SAID. 287 BUT I PULLED ANOTHER CLASS IN WITH MY CLASSROOM. YOU KNOW, THERE WAS ANOTHER NEW TEACHER THAT WORKED WITH ME. THE TWO OF US WERE IN CAHOOTS AND BROUGHT THAT CLASSROOM TOGETHER AND CLOSED THAT DOOR, AND SHE JUST PERFORMED AND SIGNED TO OUR KIDS. AND IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE. WELL, OF COURSE, WE COULDN'T KEEP THAT QUIET, BECAUSE THE FOLLOWING WEEK THAT NEW TEACHER AND I WERE CALLED INTO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE. AND FORTUNATELY, THE SUPERINTENDENT POSITION WAS VACANT, SO IT WAS THE PRINCIPAL. WELL, THE PRINCIPAL WAS JUST OVERWORKED. I MEAN, SHE WAS DOING TWO JOBS, YOU KNOW, SO SHE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO REALLY ATTEND TO THE SITUATION OTHER THAN WARN US. SHE DIDN'T FIRE US. SHE JUST GAVE US A WARNING. AND YOU KNOW WHAT? TWO YEARS WAS ENOUGH FOR ME IN THAT SCHOOL. THE FOLLOWING YEAR WE DID HAVE A SUPERINTENDENT SO I LEFT AFTER TWO YEARS AND WENT TO FLORIDA, AND THEY USED THE 288 ROCHESTER METHOD. MR. TUCKER: ROCHESTER METHOD, OH. MR. FINNEGAN: OH, YEAH, ENTIRELY. I WAS A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER. AND, YOU KNOW, HERE WE GO. BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, WE SIGNED. THERE WERE A FEW KIDS THAT -- AT THAT POINT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE KNEW IT WAS HAPPENING IN THE HIGH SCHOOL, THAT WE COULD GO AHEAD AND USE SIGN LANGUAGE. AND, YOU KNOW, SINCE THEN, I'VE SEEN FABULOUS CHANGES IN ATTITUDE, PRACTICE, PHILOSOPHIES, RESEARCH; MARVELOUS. AND I'M SO PROUD TO SEE ALL OF THAT IN OUR AREAS OF COMMUNICATION IN OUR AREAS OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION. IT'S FABULOUS. MR. TUCKER: THERE IT IS, THE WHOLE HISTORY. BUT HOW IS IT THAT THAT COMES TOGETHER WITH HEARING AIDS, FM SYSTEMS, COCHLEAR IMPLANTS? YOU KNOW, EVERY MEMBER AT THE BEVERLY SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF WORE THE GREAT BIG HEAD PHONES, YOU KNOW, STRAPPED RIGHT ONTO MY HEAD. THERE WAS NO -- NOT LIKE THE MICROPHONE 289 THAT I HAD LAST NIGHT, BUT THE BIG HEAD PHONES. SOMETIMES MY FRIENDS AND I, WE WOULD KID AROUND WITH EACH OTHER AND CRANK IT UP SO LOUD THAT IT WOULD BE PAINFUL. YOU KNOW, PLAY ON THE MICROPHONE, SEE WHAT WE COULD HEAR, JUST REALLY CONCENTRATE HARD. I WONDER HOW MUCH I LEARNED DURING THOSE TIMES JUST SITTING AROUND PLAYING WITH THE MACHINES. IN HIGH SCHOOL I GOT A HEARING AIDE WHICH WAS FUNNY, BECAUSE IN MY MAINSTREAM PROGRAM, I HAD A BODY AIDE, YOU KNOW, WITH THE WHITE CORD. AND IT WAS QUITE AN OPERATION. I'D SAY GOODBYE TO MY MOM AND DAD, OFF I'D GO. I'D SHOVE THAT IN MY LUNCH BAG AND AS SOON AS I GOT ON MY BICYCLE THAT WAS IT. I NEVER USED IT AT ALL DURING THE DAY. AND OF COURSE I WAS IDENTIFIED AS BEING DEAF. I WAS IDENTIFIED AS BEING A BOY WITH A BIG OLD HEARING AIDE ON, AND I THOUGHT THAT'S NOT COOL, I'M NOT WEARING THIS THING. SO OF COURSE JUST BEFORE I WALKED BACK IN MY HOUSE, I'D PUT MY 290 WHITE CORD, MY BIG OLD BODY AIDE BACK ON, AND MY MOM AND DAD WOULD THINK LOOK HOW GOOD JAMIE IS. EVERY NOW AND THEN, OF COURSE, I'D BRING FRIENDS BACK TO MY HOUSE, AND MY MOM WOULD BE OKAY, MY MOM WOULD ASK MY FRIENDS IS JAMIE WEARING HIS BODY AIDE? AND YOU KNOW, MY MOM ASKED MY FRIENDS, SO MY FRIENDS ACTUALLY RATTED ME OUT ON THAT AND EVENTUALLY I DID GET GOT CAUGHT BY MY MOM. BUT, AGAIN, BEING IN A HEARING ENVIRONMENT, I WASN'T WEARING A HEARING AIDE, I DIDN'T WANT TO BE IDENTIFIED. FINALLY ENOUGH, WHEN I STARTED GOING TO DEAF SCHOOL I WAS VERY COMFORTABLE WEARING A HEARING AIDE. SO IT WASN'T UNTIL THEN THAT I ACTUALLY -- HERE IS MY HEARING AIDE. I HAVE IT IN CASE OF EMERGENCY. I HAVE IT IN MY POCKET IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, USE A HEARING AIDE. BUT THEN ALONG COMES THE IMPLANT. AND, YOU KNOW, THAT APPROACH I KNOW AT DIFFERENT SCHOOLS, I'M THINKING ALMOST 70 -- 70 CHILDREN HAVE CIS IN THE ONE SCHOOL. AND THAT IS ALMOST LIKE, YOU 291 KNOW, BUILDING A PLANE WHILE IT'S IN THE AIR. YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE WAY I SORT OF SEE IMPLANTING ALL THESE CHILDRENS. YOU KNOW, TEACHERS ARE NOT TRAINED AT SCHOOLS ANY SCHOOLS. THEY'RE INVENTING AS THEY GO, TRYING TO CONSIDER WAYS TO INSTRUCT THESE STUDENTS. AND I'M HAPPY THAT THERE ARE SO MANY CI STUDENTS IN OUR PROGRAM, BECAUSE THOSE WHO ARE NOT WITH US PERHAPS ARE NOT GETTING THE SAME CREATIVE INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACHES THAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO AT OUR SCHOOL. THERE WAS ONE BOY WHO CAME TO US A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. HE CAME -- HE JOINED US AS A FRESHMAN. AND HE WAS -- HAD QUESTIONABLE ACADEMIC SKILLS. HE WAS IN THE EIGHTH GRADE. BUT HIS SPEAKING SKILLS WERE EXTREMELY GOOD, VERY CLEAR SPEAKING. HE HAD BEEN GIVEN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TESTS. THERE WERE WORDS HE KNEW, BUT HE COULDN'T SPELL. HE COULDN'T SPELL, FOR EXAMPLE, THE WORD "BLUE." FOURTEEN YEARS OLD AND HE COULD NOT SPELL THE WORD "BLUE." SO HE COULD HEAR AND HE COULD SPEAK, HE 292 COULD SAY THE WORD, BUT HE WAS NOT LITERATE AT THE LEVEL OF BEING ABLE TO PRINT HIS COLORS. SO THE OLD MISTAKES WE MADE WITH THE ORAL APPROACH WITH THE ORAL PHILOSOPHY WERE SO INTERESTED IN A CHILD'S ABILITY TO SPEAK, WE FORGET ABOUT THEIR ACADEMIC SKILLS. SO I WONDER IF YOU HAVE SOME THOUGHTS ON THAT. MR. FINNEGAN: WELL, I'M HAPPY TO HEAR THAT YOUR SCHOOL IS ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE WITH IMPLANTED KIDS. WOW, YOU'RE BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, BUILDING THE PLANE WHILE IT'S IN THE AIR. AND THOSE KIDS -- YOU KNOW, A LOT OF SCHOOLS ARE RESISTANT TO SERVING THOSE KIDS. THEY DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM. AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO CONSIDER THE NEEDS OF OUR CUSTOMERS. WHAT ARE THE CUSTOMERS LOOKING FOR TODAY? AND WE'RE RUNNING OUR SCHOOLS LIKE A BUSINESS. AND WE'RE CHANGING AS THE NEEDS OF OUR POPULATIONS CHANGE, YOU KNOW. AND YOU HAVE TO MAINTAIN YOUR CORE VALUES. EVERY ORGANIZATION HAS TO 293 MAINTAIN THOSE VALUES. THAT'S AT THE HEART OF IT ALL. BECAUSE IF YOU KEEP CHANGING YOUR PROGRAMS AND SERVICES WITHOUT KEEPING THAT CORE STRUCTURE, THEN YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE WHAT YOU'RE ALL ABOUT, AND YOU'RE GOING TO FORGET WHAT YOU'RE ALL ABOUT. AND I THINK THAT THE FUTURE DIRECTION OF SCHOOLS HAS TO CONSIDER THAT GROUP OF KIDS AND THOSE FAMILIES THAT WANT THAT OPTION WITHIN A SIGNING ENVIRONMENT. WHY NOT? AND I -- I MEAN, THAT'S ALL TIED INTO TECHNOLOGY. I MEAN, IMPLANTS IS OUR TECHNOLOGY NOW, YOU KNOW. AND YOU SEE, YOU KNOW, TECHNOLOGY. IT'S AMAZING IN SO MANY WAYS. OF COURSE WE, OVER 30 YEARS, YES. MR. TUCKER: SMART BOARDS, PAGERS. MR. FINNEGAN: ABSOLUTELY. SO THERE'S GREAT VALUE IN TECHNOLOGY, NO DOUBT. AND WHEN I WAS HEADMASTER AT PSD IN '97-'98 -- '87-'88, I REMEMBER BEING ON CAMPUS. AND YOU REMEMBER THOSE OLD 294 MONSTER TTY MACHINES? REMEMBER THOSE? MR. TUCKER: MODEL 15? MR. FINNEGAN: EXACTLY, EXACTLY. YOU KNOW, SO THOSE WERE REWIRED AND RECONDITIONED MACHINES. THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, TELETYPE MACHINES; RIGHT? THEY WERE TELLEGRAPH MACHINES, ORIGINALLY. AND THEY WERE REWIRED. AND THERE WAS -- YOU KNOW, THERE IT IS, SITTING IN MY ROOM. TOOK A FULL ROOM IN MY HOUSE, YOU KNOW, THOSE OLD MACHINES. SO, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE WHAT WE HAVE TODAY IS MARVELOUS, YOU KNOW. SO TECHNOLOGY AND THE ADVANCEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY HAS GREAT BENEFITS FOR OUR KIDS'S, EDUCATIONALLY. HOWEVER, IN TERMS OF HOW WE ADMINISTRATE AND HOW WE LEAD AND HOW THIS AFFECTS OUR KIDS IN OUR SCHOOLS IS VERY DIFFICULT, YOU KNOW. AND HOW DO WE TIE THIS ALL IN AND PROVIDE THE SERVICES AND MAKE CONTACTS WITH OUR FAMILIES. AND IT LEVELS THE PLAYING FIELD IN SO MANY WONDERFUL WAYS. I MEAN, OUR CELL PHONES, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LIMITING. BUT FOR DEAF LEADERS AND FOR DEAF 295 ADMINISTRATION THERE ARE NO LIMITS IN THAT SENSE. AND NOW WE HAVE VIDEO PHONES, YOU KNOW. AND MAYBE THOSE WILL BE PORTABLE SOON. OH, I'M SURE THEY WILL BE, YOU KNOW, NO DOUBT. AND TECHNOLOGY IS MARVELOUS FOR OUR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, FOR OUR KIDS AND ALLOWING THEM TO BE IN TOUCH AND COMMUNICATION WITH THEIR FAMILIES. HOWEVER, IT'S REALLY, YOU KNOW, BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR YOU AS ADMINISTRATORS. MR. TUCKER: ABSOLUTELY. IT'S INTERESTING, AGAIN, WHEN I THINK ABOUT BEING AT THE VERMONT SCHOOL, I HAVE TO ADMIT THERE ARE 150 STUDENTS. AND THERE ARE NO STUDENTS OF COLOR, NONE. YOU KNOW AND I WONDER AND CONSIDER THAT. YOU KNOW, BEFORE WHEN I WENT TO A PUBLIC SCHOOL, THERE WERE -- CHILDREN OF COLOR THERE WERE ALSO ZERO. WHEN I WENT TO THE BEVERLY SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF, THERE WERE NO CHILDREN OF COLOR. AND FINALLY A STUDENT OF COLOR, I MET WAS AT GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY. THAT WAS AFTER I HAD GRADUATED FROM VERMONT. AND THAT 296 WAS A RURAL -- SO WHERE I WAS FROM THERE WEREN'T -- YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T HAVE MUCH OF A CULTURAL MIX. SO NOW WE SEE A LOT MORE DIVERSITY REFLECTION OF -- OUR STUDENT BODY NEEDS TO REFLECT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR WIDER COMMUNITIES. SO NOW I GO, WHEN I TRAVEL AND BEING IN THE FIELD NOW, I STILL THINK WE'RE NOT DOING A VERY GOOD JOB AROUND CELEBRATING OR SUPPORTING DIVERSITY. DO YOU HAVE SOME COMMENTS ON THAT? MR. FINNEGAN: THAT'S ONE AREA I DO FEEL OUR SCHOOLS ARE BEHIND. YOU KNOW, AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAVE THE SAME CHALLENGE IN RECRUITING DIVERSE STAFF. I MEAN, LOOK AROUND THE ROOM TODAY? YOU KNOW, THE DIVERSITY THAT WE HAVE REFLECTS OUR STUDENT POPULATIONS IN SCHOOL. AND WE DON'T HAVE AS MUCH DIVERSITY EVEN IN OUR ROOM TODAY, YOU KNOW. SO OUR ORGANIZATION NEEDS TO TAKE ON A STRONGER ROLE IN THIS MATTER. FINDING, IDENTIFYING, AND ENCOURAGING PEOPLE OF COLOR TO GO INTO THIS EDUCATIONAL BUSINESS. IT'S VERY 297 DIFFICULT TO CONVINCE PEOPLE TO PURSUE THIS CAREER AND IN EDUCATION IN GENERAL. IT'S VERY DIFFICULT. AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT CEASD -- I THINK IN THE PAST WE KIND OF PLAYED AROUND WITH THE IDEA, BUT WE DIDN'T TAKE A SERIOUS LOOK AT IT. MR. TUCKER: RIGHT; WE WEREN'T CONSISTENT. MR. FINNEGAN: EXACTLY. AND I THINK THAT WE NEED TO. WE HAVE TO HELP THE SCHOOLS AND THE PROGRAMS IMPROVE IN THAT AREA. CONNECTED TO YOUR QUESTION, WHEN YOU BECAME SUPERINTENDENT IN WHAT YEAR WAS THAT? MR. TUCKER: 'NINETY-TWO. MR. FINNEGAN: AND YOU WERE HOW OLD? MR. TUCKER: YOUNG AND STUPID. MR. FINNEGAN: STUPID BECAUSE YOU ACCEPTED THE JOB. HOW OLD WERE YOU? Mr. Tucker: I WAS THIRTY-THREE. MR. FINNEGAN: THIRTY-THREE; ALL RIGHT, THE SAME AGE THAT I BECAME SUPERINTENDENT AT PSD. 298 MR. TUCKER: YOU WERE YOUNG AND STUPID THEN TOO. MR. FINNEGAN: YES, A BIG YES ON THAT ONE; ABSOLUTELY. FOR MANY YEARS, THOUGH, I NOTICED THAT YOU ACTUALLY WERE THE YOUNGEST COMING TO OUR CONFERENCES. AND JAMIE, WHERE ARE YOUR PEERS? WHERE ARE THE OTHER YOUNG, BRIGHT GUYS AND GALS LIKE YOU, YOU KNOW? YOU'RE NOT THE YOUNGEST ANYMORE. MR. TUCKER: DAVID GEESLIN IS FINALLY A YOUNGER SUPERINTENDENT THAN I AM. I'VE PASSED THE CROWN OFF TO HIM. MR. FINNEGAN: HOWEVER FOR MANY YEARS, IT WAS YOU. MR. TUCKER: THEY'RE MAKING A LOT MORE MONEY IN A DIFFERENT FIELD SOMEWHERE ELSE. THE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEAF PEOPLE HAVE EXPANDED SO MUCH, MY CIRCLE OF FRIENDS, A LOT OF THEM ARE IN THE RELAY BUSINESS, IN THE INVESTMENT BUSINESS, HOME REALTY, CIVIL RIGHTS LAW. SOME OF THEM HAVE MOVED AGAIN. ALSO, SOME OF THOSE HAVE 299 TRANSFERRED INTO THE REAL ESTATE BUSINESS. ONE IS WORKING AS A DEFENSE LAWYER IN WASHINGTON, D.C. AND, AGAIN, HAS ALSO MOVED INTO THE REALTY INDUSTRY. ONE IS WORKING AS AN ADMINISTRATOR AT GALLAUDET. YOU KNOW, MY FRIENDS ARE IN -- YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALMOST NOBODY WHO CHOSE EDUCATION AS A FIELD. I STARTED AS A TEACHER, BUT I'M ALSO NOT A TEACHER ANYMORE. SO IT'S DIFFERENT FROM A THE PREVIOUS GENERATION WHERE MANY DEAF PEOPLE WERE PICKING EDUCATION AS THIER FIELD BECAUSE OF LIMITED OPPORTUNITIES IN OTHER FIELDS. AND NOW WE SEE THAT AS REALLY TURNING AROUND. MR. FINNEGAN: RIGHT; AND SO SCHOOLS ARE SUFFERING. ON THE ONE HAND, AS YOU SAID, IT'S WONDERFUL THAT YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITIES. AND YOU SEE THAT WE HAVE STUDENTS IN GLA, OUR FUTURE LEADERS. BUT WE NEED MORE THAN THAT, YOU KNOW. WE NEED TO INCLUDE PEOPLE, MORE DIVERSITY IN OUR TRAINING PROGRAMS, IF WE CAN IDENTIFY THOSE TRAINING PROGRAMS AND PEOPLE AND PULL THEM INTO 300 THIS FIELD. WELL, PEOPLE LIKE YOU, JAMIE. MR. TUCKER: IT'S A CHALLENGE. MR. FINNEGAN: AND WE NEED TO DO IT WHEN THEY'RE STILL YOUNG. MR. TUCKER: FOR ME, THE MARYLAND SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF, EVERY TIME WE ADVERTISE FOR MIDDLE-LEVEL ADMINISTRATION, OUR SEARCH IS VERY INTENSE. WE HAVE A VERY DIFFICULT TIME, AND OFTEN WE HAVE TO HOME GROW OUR OWN ADMINISTRATORS. AND THAT HAS BEEN OUR PRACTICE OVER THE YEARS, HAVING A SUCCESSION PLAN, SO THAT PEOPLE ARE READY TO MOVE INTO POSITIONS. BECAUSE WE HAVE EEO LAWS, EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, AND SO WE CAN'T REALLY APPOINT SOMEONE. WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE INTERVIEW PROCESS, ET CETERA. BUT IT'S A CHALLENGE TO SATISFY SOME OF THOSE OF THOSE MIDDLE MANAGEMENT. AND WE DO GET PEOPLE WHO ARE VESTED. ONCE THEY'RE VESTED THEY SORT OF MOVE THROUGH. SO THE CHALLENGE CONTINUES. MR. FINNEGAN: ANOTHER REASON WHY 301 THIS ORGANIZATION, YOU KNOW, NEEDS TO CONSIDER IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN WAYS TO TRAIN FUTURE LEADERS, THAT'S A KEY ROLE FOR THIS ORGANIZATION, I BELIEVE. YOU KNOW, IN THE PAST AND, YOU KNOW, 15, 20 YEARS AGO WE DIDN'T CONSIDER THAT AS IMPORTANT. AND WE'RE BEGINNING TO RECOGNIZE THAT THIS ORGANIZATION NEEDS TO TAKE A STAND AND NEEDS TO TAKE AN ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT IN THAT JOB IN ALLOWING THOSE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW OUR LEADERS SO THAT OUR SCHOOLS CAN CONTINUE TO GROW. THAT'S THE ONLY WAY WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. MR. TUCKER: ABSOLUTELY. THERE ARE MANY ISSUES THAT WE FACE ON A DAILY BASIS. ONE THAT WE'RE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH BUT PERHAPS WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT AND THAT IS SEX IN DORMS AND SEX IN SCHOOLS. MR. FINNEGAN: ALL, RIGHT JAMIE, OKAY, JAMIE. ON THAT NOTE I THINK I'M LEAVING THE STAGE. MR. TUCKER: ARE YOU EASILY EMBARRASSED? I KNOW YOU'RE THE SHY 302 TYPE. MR. FINNEGAN: NO, IT'S JUST A HOT TOPIC. MR. TUCKER: BUT I THINK IT'S OUR ACHILLES HEEL IN THE DORM. I BELIEVE THAT AS A GROUP AS ADMINISTRATORS, WE'RE DOING BETTER. WE'RE FOLLOWING PROCEDURES. WE'RE REPORTING TO PROTECTIVE SERVICES. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE PR PERSONNEL WHO ARE READY TO TALK TO THE PRESS WHEN NECESSARY. WE TALK TO OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES. WE COMMUNICATE WITH OUR PARENTS. AND YET THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES FOR US SOMETIMES. WE LIVE IN A COMMUNITY NEXT TO A HIGH SCHOOL. AND MY -- MY CHILDREN GO THERE NOW IN THE ELEVENTH GRADE. AND I SEE STUDENTS LEAVING THE SCHOOL IN THEIR CARS. AND THEY'RE DRIVING BY AND THEY'RE PARKING. THEY'RE DOING BOYS GIRL, BOY GIRL, BOY GIRL, BOY GIRL, PERHAPS TWO BOYS TWO GIRLS. BUT WE SEE THEM IN THEIR CARS DRIVING BY. AND MANY OF THEIR PARENTS WORK IN WASHINGTON, D.C. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE HOME UNTIL 303 6:00 OR 7:00 AT NIGHT. THEY'RE LEAVING SCHOOL AT 2:15. SO WHAT HAPPENS FOR THOSE FOUR HOURS? THEY'RE NOT AT THEIR SCHOOL, AND THEY'RE NOT THE SCHOOL'S RESPONSIBILITY. THE PARENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM. AT THE SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF, OF COURSE, THEY ARRIVE ON SUNDAY, THEY LEAVE ON FRIDAY. AND WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM THE 24 HOURS THAT THEY SPEND WITH US EACH AND EVERY DAY. SO, OF COURSE, WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO BEAT THE SYSTEM. RIGHT NOW, THE SYSTEM IS BEATING US, WITHOUT QUESTION. YOU KNOW, KIDS WILL BE KIDS. SO HOW IS IT THAT WE CAN MANAGE THAT SITUATION? BECAUSE WE DO HAVE THEM ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT ON A DAILY BASIS. AND I THINK THIS ISSUE WILL NOT GO AWAY. IT IS AN ISSUE THAT RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS WILL FACE AND CONTINUE TO FACE. YOU WANT YOUR SCHOOL TO BE A SAFE PLACE, AND PERHAPS IT IS ON PAPER. YOU KNOW, I KNOW FIVE, SIX YEARS AGO THERE WAS A STATEMENT THAT WAS MADE SAYING THAT WE BELIEVE OUR SCHOOLS. WE VALUE THEM. WE 304 MAINTAIN THEM AS A SAFE PLACE. AND WE CONTINUE TO TRY, BUT I WONDER WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE ON THAT. MR. FINNEGAN: YOU'RE WRESTLING WITH HUMAN NATURE. AT THAT POINT, PART OF IT IS FOR THE KIDS GROWING UP, SCHOOLS CAN'T STOP TRAINING THEIR STAFF AND OFFERING APPROPRIATE PROGRAMS. AND SEX EDUCATION PROGRAMS ARE SUCH FOR THEIR KIDS. AS RECENTLY AS YESTERDAY AT LUNCH, WHEN I GOT UP AND ASKED MIKE DENINGER THE QUESTION OF WHAT THE CLAIRE CENTER CAN DO TO PROVIDE TRAINING FOR RESIDENTIAL STAFF, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN THE CENTER HELP THE SCHOOLS IN THAT AREA TO ADDRESS THIS EXACT ISSUE THAT YOU'RE BRINGING UP, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT. THAT ISSUE IS NEVER GOING TO GO AWAY, YOU KNOW. SOME SCHOOLS STOP AT SIXTH GRADE. AND, QUITE FRANKLY, I CERTAINLY WOULDN'T MIND THAT, YOU KNOW. SOME SCHOOLS DON'T HAVE RESIDENTIAL COMPONENTS EITHER, AND I DON'T MIND THAT. HOWEVER, THOSE SCHOOLS THAT DO HAVE THE RESIDENTIAL COMPONENT ARE GOING 305 TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE CONSTANTLY. AND IT CAN'T BE IGNORED. AND WE CAN'T SAY THAT WE ARE A RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL WITH A CENTER SCHOOL CONCEPT, YOU KNOW. WE CAN'T SAY THAT. YOU KNOW, IT'S NEGATIVE WHEN YOU SAY -- ANYTIME YOU SAY YOU'RE A RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL, IT BRINGS UP NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS. HOWEVER, WE ARE A RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL, AND IT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR SCHOOL. YOU KNOW, THIS IS A CONSTANT ISSUE. IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT COMES UP ONE TIME A YEAR. AND SOME OF OUR MEMBERS CHOOSE TO IGNORE THIS PART, YOU KNOW, UNTIL IT BITES THEM, YOU KNOW, IN THE BEHIND OR IN THE ASS, I SUPPOSE. BUT AGAIN, THIS ORGANIZATION NEEDS TO ASSIST OUR SCHOOLS IN ADDRESSING AND WRESTLING THIS ISSUE. AND I'M NOT SUGGESTING THIS. HOWEVER, ONE OF MY MENTORS TOLD ME ONCE, GOD GAVE YOU EYES. GOD ALSO GAVE YOU EYELIDS, YOU KNOW. SO SOMETIMES YOU'VE GOT TO CLOSE YOUR EYES AND LET KIDS BE KIDS. BUT I KNOW -- YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING WHEN I SAY THAT YOU 306 HAVE TO BE CAREFUL. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE CAN'T BE ON GUARD 24/7 WITH THESE KIDS. THEY NEED TO BE KIDS; RIGHT? MR. TUCKER: SORRY I HAD TO MENTION THAT, BUT -- MR. FINNEGAN: YEAH, IT'S TOUGH. MR. TUCKER: ARE YOU HUNGRY? WOULD YOU LIKE TO GRAB SOME LUNCH? MR. FINNEGAN: ALWAYS. I ALWAYS ENJOY LUNCH WITH YOU, JAMIE. MR. TUCKER: ARE YOU GOING TO SANTA FE NEXT YEAR? MR. FINNEGAN: OH, OF COURSE. I WOULDN'T MISS IT FOR ANYTHING. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO A WONDERFUL CONFERENCE AT A WONDERFUL LOCATION. AND I'M GOING TO ADD ON A FEW DAYS AFTER, YOU KNOW, JUST FOR SOME VACATION TIME WITH ME AND MY WIFE. MR. TUCKER: EXCELLENT. MR. FINNEGAN: ALWAYS. YOU KNOW, IT'S PART OF THE REASON WHY I'VE BEEN ABLE TO ATTEND AS MANY CONFERENCES THAT I'VE BEEN AND AS LONG AS I HAVE. I 307 HAVEN'T MISSED ONE. MY WIFE AND I, WE COME TO THE CONFERENCE, AND WE ALWAYS ADD ON A COUPLE OF DAYS AFTER TO ENJOY WHERE WE'RE AT. MR. TUCKER: AND JUST RECHARGE YOURSELF. MR. FINNEGAN: YEAH. MR. TUCKER: WONDERFUL. THANK YOU, MY FRIEND. MR. FINNEGAN: THANK YOU, MY FRIEND. OKAY; ALL RIGHT. NOW, WE LEAVE THE STAGE AND DODGE THE EGGS AND TOMATOES. MR. BOSSO: IF I COULD, GENTLEMEN, I WANT TO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE WERE EXPERIMENTING WITH THE DIALOGUE TODAY. AND YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT IT WAS AWESOME. NOW, I WISH WE HAD DONE IT THE FIRST DAY BECAUSE ONLY HALF THE PEOPLE BENEFITED FROM THIS WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE. SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO GIVE PEOPLE A QUICK OPPORTUNITY, IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS. WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF MINUTES IF THERE'S ANYTHING 308 FROM THE FLOOR; QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? SEEING NONE -- JOE, SOMEONE WHO IS LEAVING, THEY SAID PERHAPS YOU SHOULD WRITE THAT HISTORY BOOK, BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALL THE INSTITUTIONAL MEMORY WITH YOU. SO PERHAPS YOU NEED TO DOCUMENT THAT AND CONSIDER WORKING THAT PERHAPS -- WORKING UNDER THE DIFFERENT PRESIDENTS. MR. FINNEGAN: YEAH, WELL, IF I DO THAT, THEN YOU'RE GOING TO GET RID OF ME. YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO KEEP ME AROUND. IT'S ALL IN MY HEAD THERE, ED, IT'S ALL IN MY HEAD. AND I'M NOT LEAVING. AND I'VE GOT SOME DIRTY STUFF IN MY HEAD. MR. BOSSO: ANYWAY, THANK YOU. JOIN ME IN THANKING BOTH OUR PRESENTERS IN THE DIALOGUE THIS MORNING. MR. FINNEGAN: THANK YOU. MR. TUCKER: THANK YOU. MR. BOSSO: AND THAT, MY FRIENDS, IS THE END OF OUR CONFERENCE. WE REALLY WANT TO SAY HOW MUCH WE'VE APPRECIATED YOUR PARTICIPATION HERE. CAN'T BE A 309 CONFERENCE WITHOUT PEOPLE COMING. THE PROGRAM CAN BE GOOD AND THE SPEAKERS CAN BE GOOD, BUT IN AN EMPTY ROOM IT'S A LITTLE MEANINGLESS. SO WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR OUR PARTICIPATION HERE. IF YOU'RE STAYING TODAY -- I KNOW THERE WILL BE MANY PEOPLE WHO WILL BE TRAVELLING. SO IF YOU'RE STAYING, ENJOY YOUR TIME. AND AGAIN, I JUST WANT TO TAKE ONE MORE OPPORTUNITY TO THANK STEVE. IF YOU WOULD STEP FORWARD, STEVE, SO WE CAN THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN, PLEASE. MR. GETTEL: THANK YOU. MR. BOSSO: AND THE WHOLE TEAM, IF THE WHOLE TEAM WOULD STEP FORWARD, PLEASE. FROM THE FLOOR: WE'RE NOT STEPPING FORWARD. MR. BOSSO: YES, YOU ARE, ACTUALLY. EVERY YEAR WE HAVE A CONFERENCE, AND EVERY YEAR WE CELEBRATE. BUT, REALLY, EACH HOST HAS BEEN SPECIAL. AND WE'VE BECOME FRIENDS. WE FEEL LIKE WE KNOW 310 THEM. WHEN WE LEAVE, IT'S ALWAYS A A LITTLE BIT HARD FOR ME TODAY CERTAINLY TO LEAVE THE MONTANA TEAM. WE'VE BEEN WORKING TOGETHER ALL YEAR. AND I FEEL LIKE THEY'VE REALLY BECOME MY FRIENDS. SO, AGAIN, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR THE OUTSTANDING CONFERENCE AND ALL YOUR WORK; THANK YOU. MR. GETTEL: YOU'RE WELCOME. HAVE A SAFE TRIP HOME. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR IN SANTA FE. (CONFERENCE CONCLUDED AT 11:10 A.M.)