A new project spearheaded by Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf (RIT NTID) aims to bring literacy education to deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji.
RIT has recently received a USD 300,000 Project TREE (Transforming Reading in Early Education for Deaf Children) grant from the international organization, All Children Reading.
Key Takeaways:
- RIT received a USD 300,000 Project TREE grant from the All Children Reading organization.
- RIT/NTID will use the grant to bring literacy education to deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
- This initiative of RIT sealed partnerships with three countries, including the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji.
All Children Reading is an organization that advances edtech innovation and research to improve reading outcomes for marginalized children in low-resource contexts.
The project seeks to transform the early-grade reading experience for young deaf and hard-of-hearing children through Sign Language Rhythm and Rhyme and Shared Multilingual Reading Strategies.
According to Christopher Kurz, a professor in NTID, Project TREE addresses the gap by providing deaf and hard-of-hearing children greater access to sign languages, digital learning assessments, early-grade reading materials, and visual songs about vocabulary.
Kurz added that the main focus of this initiative is to reduce the global deaf literacy gap. Project TREE organizers are producing training materials and providing additional training to partner country teams for maximum success in the assimilation of the materials.
RIT NTID, being the first and largest technological college in the world for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, is also creating the most powerful, thriving network of deaf and hard-of-hearing professionals in the world.
It has served more than 1,100 deaf and hard-of-hearing students from the United States and worldwide who live, study, and work alongside hearing students on the mainstream RIT campus.
Abcodo is an MSM company that serves as the in-house recruitment partner of MSM Unify, a student recruitment and marketing platform that connects partner schools to top-tier agents and their students worldwide. Sign up now to get the latest updates and information on international student recruitment.
