Nancy Hlibok Amann:
Hi, I'm Nancy Hlibok Amann, school site superintendent for California School for the Deaf Riverside. Wow, I feel so good right now for the past couple days with six schools and I'll tell you why the six in just a moment. Here are six schools that typically engage in national tournaments. The six chartered schools host a variety of tournaments, such as Hoy, Clerc Classic, Berg Seeger, you name it. We realized that there was a need to convene and have the opportunity to dialogue about a list of things that we truly value. We want to see the tradition of high school athletics continue and keep it strong. To make this happen, we decided to host six school site superintendents and six athletic directors. This is the first time that the twelve of us have been together in the same room, and it was quite inspiring.
We had two phenomenal facilitators, Laurene Simms and Jeff Lewis, and with the two of them together, we had an outstanding dialogue! The six schools were Indiana School for the Deaf, Fremont, Texas, MSSD, Maryland, and Riverside.
I'd like to introduce these two gentlemen who are standing with me here today and who had helped make these two days very pleasant and outstanding. We value the importance of academics and sports for our high school students, not just for our six schools, but for all deaf schools nationwide throughout the United States. I'd like to introduce Chris Hamilton, athletic director for Texas School for the Deaf.
Chris Hamilton:
Hello everyone. Yes, in the last two days, we talked at great length and recognized some sensitive issues. We were all in agreement that we need to come up with an action plan, and we did. We will follow through with this action plan. Truly we are looking forward to seeing this come to fruition and thrilled to have the opportunity to work with all six superintendents and athletic directors in one room. Thank you, Nancy, for making this happen.
Nancy Hlibok Amann:
Sure, you're welcome. Thank you for saying that. And here is the superintendent for Indiana School for the Deaf, David Geeslin.
David Geeslin:
Right, thank you to Nancy for hosting this meeting. It's really appreciative. It was quite successful with the level of thought not just for our six schools but for all deaf children, all the students nationwide. Bottom line is that the goal is to see deaf students thrive ultimately in their academics and sports.
We are here for the students, so thank you again for making this happen, truly.
Nancy Hlibok Amann:
Thank you, it's my pleasure. And one additional thing, I just wanted to add in terms of the action plan. We will be sharing that information via vlog and email. It's important to keep an eye on NDIAA on their website. You can also take a look at their Facebook page to learn more about what NDIAA is doing for all deaf schools throughout the United States. Thank you so much.
Chris Hamilton:
Thank you.