By Tim Grant / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steven E. Farmer, the new CEO of the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, spent most of his early childhood in deaf schools, but when he transferred to a public school in ninth grade, the experience gave him a new appreciation for the benefits of deaf students attending deaf schools.
“When I reached high school, I could only speak to others through an interpreter,” he said. “I had very few friends. While the opportunities were vast, if I could do it over, I would have explored staying in a deaf school. At a school for the deaf, there is open communication among students and staff.”
He said his parents moved him to the public school in ninth grade so that he could be with his siblings.
One of the things that appealed to Mr. Farmer about taking the helm at WPSD is that every student can communicate with any administrator or faculty member without requiring the assistance of an interpreter and that no student will have to suffer the frustration or isolation he endured every day of his high school experience.
Mr. Farmer took over WPSD on July 1, when former CEO Donald Rhoten retired from his position after 23 years. Mr. Farmer, who was picked after an eight-month search process, holds a doctorate of education in education leadership and policy studies, which he earned from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
“My vision for the school is to create lifelong learners out of all of our students,” he said through an interpreter. “I want to get to know folks here. I’ll be visiting every classroom and every department. I will get to know the people here and get to know the students here. This is a wonderful school already. And I will try to find areas that need improvement. There is always room for improvement, but it is already an excellent school.”
A native of Frederick, Md., Mr. Farmer and his wife Heather have four children. Their oldest child attends college in Tennessee; one is a senior in high school; one is a high school sophomore; and their youngest child is in the sixth grade and will be attending WPSD due to a hearing impairment. The family will live on the school campus in Edgewood.
WPSD operates two campuses in the state. The main campus in Edgewood is K-12 and has a student body of 185. The Scranton School for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children goes to eighth grade and has a student body of 60. Students from the Scranton campus can transfer to the Pittsburgh campus when they reach ninth grade.
Mr. Farmer said the two schools are not limited to using sign language.
The schools provide speech therapy and auditory therapy. About 30 percent of students have cochlear implants, which are devices that are surgically implanted behind the ear to provide auditory assistance. They are different from a normal hearing aid. About 60 percent of the students use regular hearing aids and 10 percent are unaided.
Prior to accepting his new position, Mr. Farmer worked for 17 years at Tennessee School for the Deaf as director of student life, where he supervised a staff of 85 and managed the independent living curriculum. After earning his doctorate, he was ready for the challenge of leading a school and he sees this as an exciting opportunity.
“The transition from a state-run school to a private school will be my biggest challenge,” he said. “Private schools are different. The fact that WPSD is a private school and Tennessee School for the Deaf is state-run, I have a lot to learn coming from a state-run school to a private school.”
Tim Grant: tgrant@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1591.
This article (source link) including photos are published in Post-Gazette.com site on August 22, 2016.
