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Becky David Elementary students sign pledge as district spotlights DHH conversational sign club
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Summary
Principal Ed Beckman and teacher LaWanda Brewer told the Francis Howell board the Becky David Elementary conversational sign club has grown into a 34-student program that connects hearing students with deaf and hard-of-hearing peers; the district provides master-level interpreters and the club’s students performed the pledge at the meeting.
At the Francis Howell School District board meeting on March 19, Becky David Elementary principal Ed Beckman and teacher LaWanda Brewer described a growing sign-language program that the district calls its elementary Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) hub. Beckman said Becky David has served as the DHH hub in St. Charles County since 1984 and now offers both grade-level sign clubs and a 34-student conversational sign club.
"We actually now have two different types of sign clubs," Beckman said, noting robust participation across third through fifth grades and an application process that led to wait lists. He told the board the clubs teach wide-ranging vocabulary — the alphabet, numbers up to 100, everyday words and as many as 300 to 500 signs across six to eight weeks of instruction.
LaWanda Brewer, identified by Beckman as the teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing at Becky David, said the program is intended to build an inclusive culture so students of different abilities can communicate directly. "Our overall goal with sign club is to have an inclusive community of Becky David that allows all student abilities to be acknowledged, highlighted, and showcased," Brewer said.
The program includes district-provided American Sign Language interpreters described as master-level, and staff told the board some interpreters are nationally certified and some are CODAs (children of deaf adults). Beckman and Brewer showed a short student-created video and brought club members to the meeting; students performed signing during the pledge and stood for applause.
The board recognized the students and presented small tokens — including 3D-printed coins with sign-language imagery — to the group. The district said the conversational club aims to enable sustained peer conversation with DHH students and to extend those communication skills into the community.
The presentation concluded with a note of gratitude to district support and a reminder the club’s work is part of broader efforts to expand programs that celebrate deaf culture in Francis Howell.
