The Metro Deaf School promotes academic excellence in deaf education using an innovative bilingual & bicultural approch. Our primary purpose is to help our students develop a sense of identity and pride as deaf persons while providing them skills and knowledge to succeed in the larger hearing community.
Metro Deaf School (MDS) was approved as one of the nation's first charter schools in August 1992 and celebrated twelve years as a charter school in fall 2004. The school opened for operation in the fall of 1993 with thirteen deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It added a pre-school in fall 1998. In fall 2004, there were five pre-school students and 68 students enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade.
MDS has the same academic expectations and curriculum as any other K-8 program - regardless of the learner. The focus is on student achievement and self-advocacy, as in any program but it happens that MDS' student body is deaf. Deafness does not diminish the expectations or academic rigor. MDS is 100% "special education" and while they do serve numerous students who have "special needs," thus offering those students modified and accommodated curriculum to meet their unique needs, the rest of the student body is instructed with a "regular education" approach. College and/or post secondary education of some form is a frequent discussion and a common expectation as the students go through middle school at MDS. Students learn how to be successful in the larger community and how to be positive self-advocates as deaf individuals. Students and families see the potential in themselves and their children. Learning is maximized and expectations are high since the world needs deaf leaders in all fields. Based on alumni data, an astounding 90% of all former MDS graduates have attended or are attending a 4-year college with the other 10% in other Post Secondary Option (PSO) programs.
MDS serves D/HH students from the seven county metro area as well as western Wisconsin. Currently, MDS is serving 30 school districts and has a steady enrollment of approximately 68-75 students annually. This enrollment number is considered "above average" when compared to other D/HH programs such as Como Elementary in St. Paul, Gideon Pond in Eagan and Anne Sullivan in Minneapolis. For the 2004-2005 school year, 53% of students are from hearing families and 47% are from deaf families. D/HH students are considered a "low-incidence disability" group. There are approximately 1,200 D/HH students in Pre-K - 12th grade in the Twin Cities. Typically, districts bus D/HH students to "center schools" where a population can be created to provide students with classroom peers. Many hard of hearing students remain in their own school districts and are mainstreamed into regular classes, some with and others without support. Our families/students choose a different approach to education based on their child's learning preference.
