The  Katzenbach Parent and Staff  Organization (KPSO) and the Katzenbach Parent and Staff Education Foundation (KPSEF) are dedicated to providing educational opportunities and enhancements to the students of the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf (MKSD) located in Ewing, New Jersey.  These two organizations work together to provide MKSD students with a summer program.  The program is funded through contributions from: area businesses, corporations, grants, the New Jersey Association for the Deaf, the Katzenbach Alumni, individuals, and fundraising activities of both the KPSO and KPSEF.  

Since 1992, the Summer Program has provided the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students enrolled in the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf, ages three to 10, a Summer Program as an extension of their academic year in an environment that offers direct communication with staff and peers.

The program reinforces academic skills and provides an atmosphere for social development and peer group identification for students in a setting rich in Deaf Culture with Deaf adult role models.  Since Deafness is a low incident disability and many of our Deaf children are isolated in their neighborhoods, unable to communicate with their neighborhood-hearing peers during the summer months, the Summer Program provides an opportunity for our children to maintain their academic and communication skills in an environment where communication is free and natural.

For the youngest children, age three, the Summer Education Program offers a gentle transition from our Parent-Infant Early Intervention Program to the Nursery School. These children benefit from the summer program, as it is the first time they are away from their parents in the school setting.  The children experience, many for the first time, the bus ride to and from school.  The program provides the preschoolers the opportunity to adjust to school and the children return in September ready and eager to learn. Parents also benefit, as it is the first time they are separated from their children for an extended period of time.

For our Lower School children, who find themselves separated from their Deaf peers when school is not in session, it provides opportunities to socialize and maintain their language skills.  The program provides the continuity needed for the children to maintain academic and communicative skills achieved during the regular school year. 

The program is staffed by certified teachers of the Deaf and teaching assistants, many of whom are employed at Katzenbach during the regular school year.  The number of teaching assistants assigned to the classes varies from year to year depending on the needs of the students.  It is important to note that the staff who are employees of the Katzenbach School for the Deaf during the regular school year accepts an hourly rate much lower than their regular school year contracted agreement as their in-kind donation to the program.  The staff accepting a lower hourly rate enables us to add additional classes to ensure that all the children that apply to the program are accepted. 

The classes of three, four, five and six year olds always have one certified teacher of the Deaf and at least one teaching assistant assigned to the class. The program operates from 9am to 12:30pm.  This half-day program operates during the month of July.  All staff spends 100% of their time in the program.

The number of teachers and staff depends on the number of children enrolled in the program and the individual needs of the students.  Summer 2001 increased the number of classes to nine since some of the students presented additional needs in the areas of behavior or significant learning disabilities and needed a smaller class size The Katzenbach School provides the materials needed for the program as their in-kind donation.

Summer 2001 provided services to 52 children primarily from Mercer and Middlesex Counties, at a cost of $27,216.00.  There were however, children traveling from as far away as Union County.  The program provides an atmosphere of cultural diversity with 48% of the students being minorities.  Deafness itself is a low incident disability.

Additional program information, please contact...

Kim Arrigo, President - KPSO

Sharon DeVito, President - KPSEF, Inc.