District 204 added the American Sign Language course for the 2016-2017 school year as a world language option for students to learn sign language and to expand their communication with others.

The coursework includes regular grammar, culture, and history that other language curriculums teach. Compared to the other foreign language courses, the curriculum is similar, but ASL does not have speaking and listening tests as it is not a spoken language.

“ASL covers the same type of materials as [Spanish and French], but the main difference is that there is not going to be any reading or writing,” ASL teacher Carmine Vozzolo said.

The goal of the course is for students to learn the basics of ASL, which every language teaches at level one.

“[Classes] have already learned the alphabet and they are starting to learn some greetings. We will get into shorter phrases, sentences, and hopefully we will be able to converse by the end of the year,” Vozzolo said.

Vozzolo is the ASL teacher at Metea and Waubonsie, teaching five periods a day: three at Metea and two at Waubonsie. Neuqua also offers the same course with three periods during the school day.

The ASL course falls under the world language and fine arts department, counting towards Metea graduation credit. As a growing language, students have become more diligent looking at college policy on ASL as a language credit.

“The number of colleges and universities that accept [ASL] are just growing and growing and growing,” Vozzolo said.

The addition of the class this school year has grown excitement among students.

“Everyday is a new experience and if I am having a bad day, I just look forward to class and just knowing that I am getting so much closer to being able to communicate with more people,” junior Maggie Harter said.

As the first year ASL is offered, there are fewer classes compared to the popular options such as Spanish and French. 

Sign language is another way of communicating with others, but not many students have knowledge about the ASL community.

“[Students] have been exposed to ASL in bits in pieces through ‘Switched at Birth’, other TV shows, and movies,” Vozzolo said.

For other students interested in learning more about the ASL community, there is an ASL club that is run by Vozzolo.

“ASL just feels like a family,” Harter said.