Graduate school partners with Tucker-Maxon

Lewis & Clark’s Graduate School of Education has partnered with Tucker-Maxon Oral School in Portland to offer a new auditory/oral education track.

The new track prepares educators to teach elementary- and secondary-age school children to listen, to read lips and to speak without using sign language.

“There is an increased interest in oral education because of the cochlear implant,” says Patrick Stone, executive director of Tucker-Maxon. A cochlear implant is a device that is surgically implanted in the ear to allow deaf people to hear.

Stone secured a five-year renewable grant from the Oberkotter Foundation to fund the joint venture with Lewis & Clark. Graduate students who are enrolled in the new auditory/oral education track take courses at both Lewis & Clark and Tucker-Maxon.

The graduate school’s teacher education program now offers master of education degrees in three areas of special education for the deaf and hard-of-hearing: elementary/secondary education, early intervention/early childhood and auditory/oral education.

“Partnering with Lewis & Clark automatically provides the recognition and credibility that will allow us to have a positive impact on deaf children across the country,” says Stone.

“This new partnership is an opportunity for all of us who work in the field to learn from one another,” says Carolyn Bullard, acting director of deaf and hard-of-hearing education at Lewis & Clark.