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Deaf students enjoy field trip from Target grant

May 31, 7:06 PMEducation ExaminerDonna Gundle-Krieg
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Field trips enrich all children, but budget issues across the country are forcing most schools to cut or eliminate field trips from the curriculum.  

Yet 32 deaf students including Michael Olson (left) were lucky enough to recently attend the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito, CA through the Target Field Trip Grants Program.

“We received a field trip grant for $800,” said Kristi Petree. “In our current economic situation, this is a huge amount of money!”
 
Petree is the teacher of these darling children and also Educational Consultant for the Auditory Oral School of San Francisco at the Hearing and Speech Center of Northern California.
 
Petree’s grant application was one of 5,000 selected from more than 25,000 applications from across the country. 
 
“I am really excited to share information about our school for deaf children who are learning to listen and speak, and hopefully spark awareness about the Target Field Trip Grant Program,” Petree said.
 
The Auditory Oral School of San Francisco is a non-profit organization that relies on donations. 
 
Students, who range from birth to 2nd grade, are deaf and hard of hearing children who are learning to listen and talk, including Gregory Moeller pictured to the right.
 
“Today, many children who are screened at birth and are diagnosed and treated appropriately, can develop speech and language at a rate similar to their hearing peers,” said Petree. 
 
The school and the staff at the Hearing and Speech Center provide a range of services such as speech therapy, newborn hearing screenings, audiological services and counseling for deaf individuals of all ages. 
 
The Target Field Trip Grant Program distributed 5,000 grants totaling $4 million in funds this year to “help education professionals bring learning to life for students.”
 
Criteria for the selection of grant recipients included: the description of the field trip and its objectives, the benefits to the student, the tie-in to the school curriculum, the number of students who would be impacted and the proposed use of funds. 
 
Funds may be used to cover cost of transportation, entry fees, supplies and equipment, and resource materials. 
 
Applications for the 2009/2010 Target Field Trip Grants Program will be available online at Target.com/fieldtrips beginning in September 2009.
 
What did the students think about the field trip? 
 
Some, such as Danica Obispo, pictured to the right, liked the drums.
 
Kavon Lopez agreed. “I liked the drum because it was loud,” she said. “It was my favorite because it was very cool."
 
Hui–Ying Li, pictured below, liked playing the bass drum. "It had a low sound," she said. "We sat on the drum so we could feel the vibration."  
 
Others were fascinated by the pretend ship.
 
“My favorite thing about the Target Field Trip was playing on the ship and selling pretend crabs and fish,” said Justin Han.
 
“I liked the ship because it was fun,” agreed Luis Urrieta. “I really liked to dig in the sand to find the treasure. Thank you to Target!”
 
 
For more information, see:
 
 
 

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