IMAGE DESCRIPTION:
CAD Logo- Light blue Circle with dark blue letters CAD inside. Outside of the letter is black letters: “California Association of the Deaf 1906”
Julie Rems-Smario appears with title below ” CAD President 0SB 210 Update- (she is a white female presenting person with short light brown hair and brown eyes. She is wearing a dark gray blouse with silver earrings and a thin turquoise necklace with shell pendant. She has a silver cuff on her right hand and a turquoise bracelet on her left hand. In the background is a white wall with mirror with gold frame. they CARE about LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
I’ve begun my hunger strike supporting the brave & courageous ones who started the multiple weeks of hunger strike
they CARE about our DEAF CHILDREN (caps in teal)
they CARE about the FUTURE
they CARE about DEAF EDUCATION with BILINGUAL programs
This situation’s NOT about one school (NOT in red and school in teal)
The concerns apply to many schools (schools in teal)
I thank the STRIKERS for the gift of a very CRUCIAL discourse (caps in gray and STRIKERS & discourse in teal)
of a very important discourse (discourse in teal)
Let’s step back to look at the BIG picture (BIG in teal)
We need to STOP saying we are (STOP in red) “fine”
by moving forward & claiming it’s all THUMBS UP
Always CHECK-IN with the schools (CHECK-IN and schools in teal)
LISTEN actively (LISTEN in teal)
show GRATITUDE (GRATITUDE in teal)
EMBRACE all views (EMBRACE in teal)
RESISTING these dialogues is (RESISTING in red and dialogues in teal)
teaching the children not to be (children in teal and not in red)
receptive to community’s ideas (community in teal)
this refusal to engage is teaching (refusal in red and engage in teal)
children to DISMISS (children in teal and DISMISS in red)
the community … OUCH (community in teal and OUCH in red)
It’s DANGEROUS to keep (DANGEROUS in red)
our community and schools APART (community & schools in teal and APART in red)
Deaf children can’t live without (Deaf children in teal)
the COMMUNITY — we bear (COMMUNITY in teal)
the responsibility to cherish (cherish in teal)
our community: Deaf community (Deaf in teal)
which includes Deaf individuals (Deaf in teal)
the recurring dismissive behavior (dismissive in red)
is ALARMING (ALARMING in red)
This means missed opportunities
for dialogues, learning & growth (dialogues, learning, growth in teal)
A good community dialogue (community dialogue in teal)
welcomes all stakeholders (welcomes in teal)
can hire consultants (hire in teal)
with expertise in (expertise in teal)
Deaf schools with Bilingual Education (all in teal except with)
and Deaf children’s need for language (child’s and language in teal)
acquisition, both tactile & visual (acquisition in teal)
we have the resources (resources in teal)
we have research-based findings (research-based findings in teal)
about ASL & English (ASL & English in teal)
we all know about VL2 (VL2 in teal)
which has scientifically shown
that Deaf babies and kids acquire (all teal except for that & and)
language through their EYES (language an EYES in teal)
HANDS (Tactile Sign Language) (all in teal)
It’s a very exciting time
with the abundance of research (abundance of research in teal)
I see this stubborn hold on
antiquated educational concepts
Let it go! (all teal)
Let it go!! (all teal and bigger fonts)
Let it go!!! (all teal and LARGE fonts)
Stop the community shaming (community in teal and shaming in red)
for sharing their concerns (sharing and concerns in teal)
like the hunger strike (hunger strike in teal)
It’s now OUR opportunity (OUR in teal)
especially the school administrators
to MEET face to face (MEET in teal)
LISTEN actively (LISTEN in teal)
ASK how to create changes (ASK, we, change in teal)
TOGETHER (teal)
TOGETHER (teal)
TOGETHER (teal)
END hunger strike shaming (hunger strike in teal and shaming in red)
HONOR THEM (teal)
by utilizing this opportunity (teal)
to CHECK-IN with our schools (CHECK-IN and schools in teal)
and develop HEALTHY (HEALTHY in teal)
SCHOOLS all over the U.S (SCHOOLS in teal)
starting with WPSD (WPSD in teal)
and its national ripple effect
School administrators and boards (all teal except for and)
SEIZE this moment (Seize in teal)
It’s a beautiful opportunity (beautiful in teal)
Thank you (teal)
black and yellow logo for hunger strike chain… Starving for ASL with several hands signing starving