NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — At the Mama Lere Hearing School preschool graduation at Vanderbilt Wednesday,10 young graduates celebrated a milestone that represents far more than completing preschool.
These 5-year-olds have developed life-changing communication skills to help them succeed in mainstream kindergarten classrooms next year.
The school specializes in helping children with hearing loss develop oral communication skills, preparing them to enter traditional educational environments.
"Our job is to meet them where they are and to help prepare them to enter a mainstream kindergarten where they can keep up with the regular curriculum and with their peers," said Brittany Day, childhood hearing programs director at Mama Lere Hearing School at Vanderbilt.
"We help children who have hearing loss to learn to use oral communication," Day said.
Music and singing play an important role in their education, helping students develop natural-sounding speech that's easily understood.
The impact of the school's approach was evident in the presence of Jahnisa Clay, a 2012 graduate of Mama Lere who just completed high school and earned a full scholarship to Middle Tennessee State University.
"I attended Mama Lere Hearing School as a preschooler here, where I learned to listen, produce sounds correctly, and advocate for myself," Clay said.
Clay spoke at the preschool graduation commencement. Family members beamed with pride watching the ceremony.
Eric Quintana watched his granddaughter graduate and reflected on her remarkable progress.
"We've seen light years of improvement inside of her hearing, her speech, her vocalization over the past few years," Quintana said.
The ceremony included younger students who joined the graduates on stage, giving them a glimpse of what their future might hold.
Teachers and parents hope this graduation is just the first of many academic achievements for these children.
"Technology has just come so far with what support and assistance these kids can get, and they're all fortunate to have families that love them and support them. And so really, the world is just open to them. They can really do anything that they set their minds to," Day said.
Click here for more information about the Mama Lere Hearing School at Vanderbilt.
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Happy Birthday to the YMCA of Middle TN. They just celebrated their 150th anniversary! A lot has changed with the Y over the years. I have personally seen some of that firsthand when I was a long-time board member at the Northwest Family Y and part of their Black Achievers Program. Forrest Sanders has a look back.
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