Students describe American Sign Language classes as community‑building and career‑relevant

Students in the Tumwater School District praised American Sign Language courses for helping them communicate with deaf and hard‑of‑hearing people, build friendships and gain skills that can transfer to jobs.

Student speaker 1, a student, said, "What I love about teaching ASL is that moment when kids cross over from thinking, this is impossible. I can't do it. To be like, oh, I get it. I understand. I can do it." Student speaker 2 described group projects and community‑building, saying the class "really brings people together" and recalling a classroom performance of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Student speaker 3 said ASL is "a different medium to communicate with" and that there are not enough people who can communicate with the deaf community. Student speaker 4 noted family benefits: "My mother is hard of hearing, and so I learn the signs. I'm not only practicing them, but I'm teaching them to my mother."

The students described classroom activities, including group presentations and art projects, and cited concrete examples of outside use. One student said they had served a deaf customer at their job and wished they had felt confident enough to respond in ASL. Another student noted that after ASL 1 and ASL 2, "if they decided to continue on with the path toward ASL interpreting, that's available," and that interpreter jobs are currently in high demand.

Speakers framed ASL learning as both a language education and a career‑relevant skill: "It's not just about the CTE experience and it's not just about you learning another language. You get to communicate in more than just 1 way," one student said. The remarks emphasized everyday utility, family communication, peer community and possible pathways to interpreter training rather than formal policy proposals or district decisions.

Students urged expanding familiarity with ASL so more community members can communicate with deaf and hard‑of‑hearing people. "I feel like it's just a skill that people should know because there's not enough people who know how to communicate with the deaf community," one student said.