SCHOOLS.............................39

Did you know that over 5% of the world’s population is Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH)? That’s over 430 million people world-wide! Two to Three children per thousand, are born deaf or hard of hearing. Broward county has one of the largest DHH student populations in Florida. Peters Elementary School is extremely lucky and proud to have DHH students in attendance that are learning in a total communications setting! Our DHH students use various modes of communication, including American Sign Language and English. We have five fantastic DHH specialty teachers teaching about 40 DHH students in pre-k to fifth grade.

American Sign Language (ASL) is a beautiful language used by the deaf community to communicate. ASL consists of signing by hand gestures, body language, and facial expressions. Our DHH students use ASL throughout the day to communicate with both their DHH and nonDHH peers! We are lucky to have wonderful interpreters who work hard every day to facilitate communication for our students or anyone who does not understand ASL. Peters Elementary’s students and staff are excited to learn ASL! Many of our DHH students are excited to own their language and are willing to teach anyone who’s interested in learning!

September was a very important month for our DHH students at Peters Elementary because it was Deaf Awareness Month. The students shared facts about being Deaf during the daily morning announcements. Each student completed a research project about Deaf celebrities and Deaf history. A bulletin board was displayed in the school cafeteria to share Deaf culture with all the students and staff. Deaf culture includes much more than sign language. The culture consists of Deaf art, Deaf jokes, and Deaf theater, just to name a few. September was a great month for our DHH students to show off their accomplishments.

A popular saying in the Deaf community is that Deaf people can do anything except hear (which is a common misconception as some of our students are able to hear) Our students are very involved in all areas at school. Some of our students participate in safety patrol and debate. Our DHH students have not only participated in district-wide debate tournaments, the students have also won medals as well! We are so proud of their continuous accomplishments and welcome every opportunity to showcase their achievements!

If you’re interested in learning more about American Sign Language, check out our YouTube page: Peters Elementary DHH. Videos we have posted are available on our channel that are both educational and fun!

Peters Elementary is located at 851 NW 68th Avenue in Plantation 33317 and may be reached at (754) 322-7900.