Springfield SD 186 plans American Sign Language classes; board set to vote on materials in March
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Summary
Springfield School District 186 staff briefed the board on an approved ASL curriculum, timeline for hiring and course roll‑out, projected per‑student costs and next steps including a March 10 board approval to purchase materials.
Springfield School District 186 Superintendent (name not specified) told the school board that the district has approved American Sign Language as a high‑school foreign language option and will bring a purchase order for curriculum materials to the March 10 board meeting.
The district’s curriculum council voted unanimously on Dec. 5, 2024, to approve the course and staff are preparing a job posting, course schedules and student registrations. The superintendent said course selection deadlines and hiring timelines will determine how many class sections the district must offer and how many instructor positions to post and fill.
The curriculum choice is Signing Naturally (digital and print options) with supplemental services (Way ASL). Superintendent (name not specified) said the district intends to wait until course selection closes to finalize quantities and then request board approval for purchasing. She summarized cost estimates discussed in the meeting: Signing Naturally is listed at $69.95 per student for online access, about $90 per student for workbooks and roughly $100 for a teacher guide; Way ASL is about $40 per student for online access.
Officials laid out a timeline: course selection forms are due Feb. 16; personnel processes for displacement and voluntary transfer under district contracts run through April; the district plans to post any remaining openings after internal transfer rules conclude and bring a purchase approval to the board on March 10. The superintendent said the district has a job description ready and will post to recruit qualified instructors.
Staff said student interest surveys showed substantial demand: roughly 48% of middle school students surveyed listed Spanish as their preferred language, with ASL second at about 19.2% interest. The superintendent noted that American Sign Language has state recognition and said, “ASL is actually the 3rd most studied foreign language in the United States.” She also thanked Dr. Thurman and members of student support services — Carrie Sluga, Carol Galusha and Heather Gibson — for helping design the program and make it accessible.
Board members were given details on curriculum features, digital grading and alignment with Canvas, and told the district will await final section counts before purchasing. No formal board vote occurred on the purchase or staffing at the meeting; the curriculum council’s Dec. 5 approval and the superintendent’s commitments were described as the current actions and next steps.
Officials said all four levels of ASL are planned so students can satisfy the two‑year foreign language graduation requirement with ASL if they choose.
