Silent success

Dallas ISD’s deaf education program makes it possible for hearing-impaired students to thrive

Story by Emily Toman

Jakkisha Smith can’t hear the ball move up and down the court. She can’t hear it bounce off the backboard and swoosh into the net. She can’t hear her coach shout the next play from the sideline. And yet she knows exactly what to do.

The junior shooting guard has become one of Woodrow Wilson High School’s star basketball players. She’s also completely deaf.

She’s one of the many hearing-impaired students who attend Woodrow in the same classrooms as everyone else. It’s one of nine campuses within Dallas ISD’s Regional School for the Deaf, feeding through J.L. Long Middle School and Stonewall Jackson Elementary where the program originated. It serves 620 hearing-impaired students from across North Texas, most of whom attend class in an inclusive setting with hearing children, following the same curriculum and classroom structure as the general student body with accommodations such as an interpreter or a deaf education teacher. The district also has smaller, self-contained settings composed of hearing-impaired students who have other disabilities.

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