Template for requesting reinstatement of funding for the Deaf Education Teacher Prep program at Columbia University

[Stephanie Feyne]

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you are all doing well.

And please contact me directly if this feels like an overreach.

In addition to the Dept of Ed, DEI, Parks, etc., the cuts have also targeted Columbia University specifically.

Many congresspeople have no idea which departments and what research is being cut. The impact on the field of Deaf Ed will be quite severe.

These letters can be sent to US Senators and Representatives.

If you are interested and do not have the info at hand - here are links for contacting your folks in DC.

https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

This template was shared with me as a response to cutting funding for the Deaf Education Teacher Prep program at Columbia University. It has a short letter - and a lot more info afterwards, plus contact info for professors in the dept. if you are interested in learning more.

Thanks for considering making a statement,

Stephanie

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Dear NAME,

I am [YOUR NAME AND RELATIONSHIP TO THE ISSUE AS PARENT, TEACHER, etc.]. I am very concerned about the impact of the loss of tuition funding to Teachers College of Columbia University’s Deaf Education Teacher preparation program. On March 7th, the Trump administration ordered a $400M cut of federal funds to Columbia University. Among the programs that were terminated are critical teacher’s education tuition support programs called COlumbia COllaborate and the COACH Project. The funds that were eliminated are part of a five-year contract to support students in the program who show both promise and financial need. The cut to this program will severely undermine the education that deaf children in New York and around the country are able to receive from Teachers College graduates.

Deaf Education in the United States is facing a critical shortage of qualified teachers. In NYC alone there are 4000 deaf and hard-of-hearing students who are served throughout NYC public schools in various settings. Graduates of Teachers College of Columbia University can be found in every placement that serves DHH students. Moreover, the majority of teachers of the deaf in the NYC area are graduates of Teachers College. This funding cut will eliminate 45 new teachers of the deaf from serving in a field that is already in shortage.

I am writing to ask you to work with Congress and the President’s administration to reinstate the program funding for the COlumbia COllaborate and COACH Program at Teachers College of Columbia University. Deaf children’s futures are at stake.

Thank you,

NAME

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Information below from Maria Hartman

Impact of Grant Funding on TC’s Preparation of Teachers of the Deaf

 

●  Deafness is a neurological emergency – without support, deaf and hard of hearing children do not learn to communicate, which has cascading effects on brain, language, academic, social, and occupational development. Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children and their families need specialized support from teachers of the deaf (TODs) to learn to communicate, read, write, and thrive in their communities.

●  However, deaf education is a critical shortage area, both nationally and in New York City, with far fewer TODs in the field than are required to meet the needs of DHH infants, toddlers, and youth.

●  Since its founding in 1906 as one of the nation’s first training programs for TODs, the Program in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education at Teachers College (TC-DHH) has been preparing educators and leaders to address these inequities in DHH education.

●  Over 4000 DHH children are served by the NYC Public Schools, with another approximately 700 students enrolled in six New York state-supported schools for the deaf. Graduates of TC-DHH can be found in every placement that serves DHH children, from the Bronx to Staten Island, from mainstream schools to self-contained classrooms, from cochlear implant clinics to early intervention agencies. In fact, the majority of TODs employed by the NYC Public Schools are TC-DHH alumni.

●  Potential TODs, particularly those from the New York City area, face financial barriers to completing teacher preparation programs, including TC-DHH. Since 2018, TC-DHH has been awarded $2.5 million in grants from the federal Education Department’s Office of Special Education Programs to fund scholarships, stipends, and other direct aid for scholars in DHH education.

●  As a result of this federal funding, called COlumbia COllaborate and the COACH Project, 45 new TODs and speech-language pathologists who would not otherwise have been able to access high-quality preparation in DHH education have entered the field, allowing hundreds of DHH students to learn the language, literacy, and social skills they need to succeed.

●  TC-DHH has a strong history of graduating students from the local community who now serve DHH children and families here in New York City. We have many human-interest stories, including that of an upcoming 2025 graduate!

 

Please contact Drs. Maria Hartman (mc...@tc.columbia.edu) and Elaine Smolen (es3...@tc.columbia.edu).