Trevor Kupka is having a great year in 4th grade at South Prairie Elementary. PE and recess are at the top of his list of favorites.
“It’s fun to get out there to play tag and sports,” Trevor says.
You would never know by watching him run that Trevor is deaf. He’s wearing cochlear implants and is an expert at sign language.
“I can talk better and more people can understand me,” he adds.
Trevor’s communication style might look different, but he’s learning and growing like everyone else in 4th grade.
“The classroom community is the number one component of any classroom,” says his teacher Lindsey Updike. “Bringing in ASL this year was another layer of that.”
Sign language starts every single day in their classroom’s morning meeting.
“The leader of the day starts and they say good morning,” says 4th grade student Sawyer Fetrow.
“The first time we started the morning meeting it just felt kind of special that we got to do that,” adds Wren Wagner. “I get to learn more sign language every day.”
That’s the special thing about this classroom. Every single student is on board and they aren’t leaving anyone behind.
“We can learn with Trevor and we can communicate with him,” adds Beckett Kloster.
“It’s really fun that all of the class gets excited about learning ASL,” shares Updike. We’ve incorporated it into learning vocabulary, math and reading. It’s really cool because it benefits all students.”
When it comes to ASL and classroom inclusion, this class is united, with Trevor leading the way.
“I love it when the kids ask about signs,” adds Updike. “They get so excited to learn things that are important to them.”
“My classmates really like sign language and they are enjoying it,” says Trevor.