Article Contributed on: 9/20/2009 10:11:57 PM
AAUW Lakewood continues with its outstanding line-up of 2009-2010 speakers at its October branch meeting. In honor of Disability Awareness Month, area community members are cordially invited to hear Susan J. Elliott, Colorado 2009 Teacher of the Year, speak about the challenges of educating deaf students.
Elliott, one of four finalists for 2009 National Teacher of the Year, has special insight into deaf education because she herself became profoundly deaf as an adolescent due to a progressive congenital hearing loss. An active educational and civic advocate for the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities with a veritable host of awards and graduate degrees, Ms. Elliott works toward transforming deaf education to meet the ever-changing demands of the international marketplace. One essential change that she strongly supports is the captioning of audio-based Internet content to provide better access to the information highway.
Elliott's excellent teaching skills reach well beyond the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. According to Highlands Ranch High School Assistant Principal Kurt Pritts, Ms. Elliott has substantial influence on other teachers and an impressive understanding of individual students. Pritts once remarked that he sends more teachers to observe her than anyone else because of her effective educational techniques.
Ms. Elliott will speak Thursday, October 8, at approximately 7:30 p.m. at Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church, 920 Kipling St., Lakewood. A branch business meeting starting at 7:00 p.m. will precede Ms. Elliott's talk.
Her Lakewood appearance follows on the heels of an inspiring September talk by Denver Post "Morning Brew" columnist Tina Griego about the importance of community members mentoring Hispanic and other minority students in our local public school systems. Such interaction gives students a brighter future and inspiration to pursue higher education in college, vocational training, and/or the military. Mentoring benefits our communities by fostering cross-cultural understanding, intergenerational communication, and economic self-sufficiency.
AAUW breaks through educational and economic barriers so that all women have a fair chance. For more information, please visit http://www.aauw.org. For AAUW Lakewood-specific info, please visit http://www.coaauw.org/lakewood. You may also contact AAUW Lakewood Public Policy Chair Amy Blackwell at 303-710-2031 or ae_blackwell@yahoo.com to learn more about AAUW. Fan AAUW Colorado on Facebook!