Metro Deaf School

Metro Deaf School (MDS) is a K–12 charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota.

History

In 1992 the school was established as Minnesota began allowing charter schools.[1] It was the first ever charter school in that state which catered to a disability. The Forest Lake School District chartered MDS. Previously the only public option catering to deaf children was the state-operated boarding school Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf (MSAD) in Faribault; Minneapolis area deaf parents wanted a closer option so they would not have to travel to MSAD.[2]

The school began classes in September 1993; initially it was a K–8 school.[1]

Minnesota North Star Academy (MNSA), a charter high school for the deaf merged into Metro Deaf on July 1, 2009.[1] MNSA opened in 2003; previously most deaf high school students in the Minneapolis area either attended local high schools with deaf interpreters or boarded at MSAD.[3] Initially the merged school was called Metro Deaf School-Minnesota North Star Academy (MDS-MNSA) but it became Metro Deaf School in 2010.[1]

Curriculum

In 2015,[4] the school began hosting a "Confucius Classroom", a program for teaching students Chinese language and culture.[5] The St. Cloud State University Confucius Institute established the program, which involves teaching Chinese Sign Language.[4]

The school previously had a preschool deaf program, in 2015 the state banned charter schools from taking in disabled preschoolers.[6]

References
  1. "History". Metro Deaf School. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  2. Hotakainen, Rob (1992-08-11). "Charter school for the deaf will be approved today by the state education board". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. pp. 1B, 8B. - Clipping of first and of second page by Newspapers.com.
  3. "Eight charter high schools approved to open in 2003, '04". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Associated Press. 2002-12-14. p. B3. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
  4. Tan, Yingzi (2017-01-30). "Educator brings her empathy to US school for deaf". China Daily. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  5. Dupuy, Beatrice (2016-11-27). "Metro Deaf School to make history with Chinese sign language". Minnesota Star Tribune. Retrieved 2021-06-20. - Alternate URL from Association of Sign Language Companies
  6. Lopez, Ricardo (2015-07-12). "Families of deaf children lose a lifeline after change in Minnesota law". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Retrieved 2021-06-20.


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