children Archives - Johnson Scholarship Foundation

Unwrapping the Gift of Potential at Clarke

December 15, 2017/in Lady Hereford, News

The spirit of the season filled the classrooms on a recent day at Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech in Jacksonville, Florida.

In one class, a teacher led her energetic preschoolers in an assignment that involved decorating a Christmas tree. Later that morning, a student practiced her language skills by reading her letter to Santa aloud to a group of visitors. Schoolwide, classes were preparing for an upcoming holiday concert.

Other than the hearing aids and cochlear implants worn by the children, the scene was no different than in any other preschool anywhere.

Administrators at Clarke know that visitors are sometimes surprised when they visit one of their campuses for the first time. In a post for Giving Matters earlier this year, Chief Development Officer Lillian Rountree challenged anyone new to Clarke to “just spend a few moments with our preschoolers to see—and hear—the potential.”

For me as a first-time visitor, that definitely was the case, even though I was aware that Clarke is where deaf and hard of hearing children learn to listen and speak.

Clarke has been involved in this work for some time. In fact, 2017 has been a year of celebration for Clarke, which has been serving deaf children and those with hearing loss for 150 years. Its Jacksonville location also celebrated its 20^th anniversary this year.

Indeed, there is much to celebrate. Clarke serves more than 1,300 children annually at its five campuses along the East Coast. In addition to the one in Jacksonville, there are campuses in Boston and Northampton, Massachusetts; New York, New York; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Clarke has the ability to reach thousands more children and their families through programs like its Early Intervention Program and its Telepractice Virtual Intervention Services for Infants and Toddlers, or tVISIT. Through tVISIT, Clarke can serve families in distant locations through video conferencing.

JSF provided financial support for the tVISIT program. Over the past 10 years, the Foundation has provided grants for many other purposes as well, including residential scholarships, website upgrades and support of the Early Intervention Program.

I was excited to learn that in addition to the tVISIT program, another way in which Clarke reaches beyond its borders is by providing internships for student teachers who are interested in working with children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Some 60 education students from Florida colleges and universities complete their practicum requirements at Clarke Jacksonville each year, helping to fill a need for skilled teachers of the deaf.

Not surprisingly, the leadership at Clarke Jacksonville can attest to many success stories. Co-Director Alisa Demico has been at the site since it was founded two decades ago, and she remains in touch with many of the students who were in the very first preschool class. Today, most of those students either have graduated or are attending college, she said.

That is likely welcome news for many Clarke parents. For them, a bright future for their children is not just a holiday wish. At Clarke, it is becoming reality, each and every day.

3 Top Myths About Kids with Learning Disabilities (LD)

September 8, 2017/in News, Peter Coll

Learning disabilities are more common than most people think, but widely misunderstood. It is widely believed by educational psychologists that more than one in 10 people in the general population (children and adults) have a learning disability.

Myth: Learning disabilities occur in people with low intelligence. In fact: a learning disability can only be diagnosed in someone who has average or higher cognitive ability. Many famously successful people have had a learning disability including Whoopi Goldberg, Richard Branson, Steven Spielberg and Albert Einstein. Sometimes the LD temporarily prevents people from believing in themselves and demonstrating their true intelligence, but never precludes a person from being successful.
Myth: Learning disabilities are caused by a lack of parental involvement or from a child watching too much television. Reality: Learning disabilities often run in families suggesting there a genetic link between this disability and the person affected. While researchers have found no specific gene that is responsible for either dyslexia (reading issues) or dyscalculia (math issues), findings do show many of the genes associated with dyslexia also seem to be linked to math challenges. This science supports the everyday experiences of teachers and parents who notice that children with reading challenges often have math challenges as well.
Myth: Learning disabilities affect more boys than girls. The truth is that while 66 percent of all children diagnosed with a LD are boys, experts understand that learning disabilities affect both genders equally. Girls often escape identification because they often outwardly show less behavioral indicators of learning struggles.

As Headmaster of Landmark East School, a grantee partner of the Johnson Scholarship Foundation, it is inspiring to me and my staff to work with students with learning disabilities every day; to witness and be a part of the remarkable growth and change that occurs in these young people every day; to see bright futures and capable young people who truly have no limits.

Founder’s Legacy Continues Through Scholarships for UPS Employees’ Children

August 18, 2017/in Lady Hereford, News

Volunteering with the Special Olympics has given Shelby Leonard of Fort Myers, Florida, a glimpse into her future.

The Florida SouthWestern State College student hopes to become a pediatric nurse “to help all types of children, especially those with special needs,” she says.

Shelby recently wrote a thank-you letter to the Board of Directors of the Johnson Scholarship Foundation for awarding her a scholarship to help her achieve her goals. As the daughter of a UPS employee in Florida, she was eligible to apply for a scholarship through the JSF Scholarship Program.

This year, the program awarded a total of $293,500 to 53 new recipients, including Shelby. In addition, 146 students received renewal awards totaling $873,400.

From 1992, when the program began, to 2016, the Johnson Scholarship Foundation awarded more than $18.4 million for scholarships for more than 1,200 students.

This core program was dear to JSF founder Theodore R. Johnson, who joined United Parcel Service as an industrial engineer in 1923. He later became the first personnel manager and vice president for industrial relations before his retirement in 1952. He and his wife, Vivian, believed strongly that higher education paves the way to a better life.

Today, the Foundation that is their legacy funds a number of programs that support disadvantaged students, students with disabilities and Indigenous Peoples.

As a core program, this scholarship program receives annual support from the Foundation. It is administered by Scholarship Management Services, a division of Scholarship America.

The scholarship is for dependent children of full-time or permanent part-time UPS employees and UPS retirees in Florida.

The recipients attend schools throughout Florida and are studying a variety of subjects. Many of the students are active in campus activities and are gaining work experience through internships.

Samuel Alfonso, a student at the University of South Florida, recently spent the summer completing an internship with a civil engineering firm in Tampa.

“I have learned so much over the past couple of months about how civil engineering really works,” he wrote. “I have helped produce several sets of plans for the drainage division, and have even led proposal efforts on a job issued by the Florida Department of Transportation.

“None of this would have been possible without the support of you all, and I am so thankful that I have your backing for my final two semesters of school.”

Another scholarship recipient, Kassidy Wells, aspires to become a nurse. She is a student at Rasmussen College in New Port Richey.

“While working and going to school full time, this scholarship has let me focus more on school and stress less about my finances,” she wrote. “I plan to follow your footsteps and one day give back to the community as you graciously have done for me.”

For more information about the scholarship program, visit www.jsf.bz.

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