The purpose of the DESK (Developing English Skills and Knowledge) Program at Louisiana State University has been, from its beginning, to assist deaf and hard of hearing students in  making a smooth transition from high school to post-secondary institutions and, in doing so, to ensure their academic and professional success.

The Evolution of the DESK Program:

The DESK Program has existed in two forms prior to its present one.  Initially, the DESK Program was conceived of as a tutoring service offered by the Office of Disability Services at LSU to deaf and hard of hearing students to help them strengthen their reading comprehension and written composition skills.  Students would work on their targeted needs areas primarily through one-on-one meetings with the Program Director.  Tutoring sessions were intended to help students improve their reading and writing skills while they work on actual assignments in their courses.  However, while students expressed interest and enthusiasm when the DESK Program was introduced and explained in an orientation meeting and through mailed brochures, very few students used the tutoring service. 

Consequently, we decided to move the point of assistance from the post-secondary institution to the secondary institution, and we began working with two local high schools: the high school at Louisiana School for the Deaf (LSD), a K-12 residence school, and Lee High School, a public high school with deaf and hard of hearing students who are either diploma-bound and mainstreamed or certificate-bound and in a self-contained classroom.  After initial fact-finding meetings with teachers at both schools, we devised a menu of student self-advocacy, study skills, and writing workshops.  The schools were asked to select workshops they felt were most appropriate for their students, and these workshops were scheduled and held in the spring semester of 1999.  While all these workshops were well received, it became apparent that the greatest need and interest was in the area of English writing skills. 

The DESK Program Today:

In its final and present form, the DESK Program focuses exclusively on English skills and is being offered to selected high school English classes at Louisiana School for the Deaf.  The DESK Program Director visits the classes on a weekly or bi-monthly basis with the goal of  introducing the students to the type of writing that is required in college freshman composition courses.  In doing so, the hope is that the students not only become better prepared for college writing but are also better prepared for the entire college experience. 

The DESK Program Director:

Dr. Jean Rohloff is the DESK Program Director and conducts all the meetings of the DESK Program at Louisiana School for the Deaf.   Dr. Rohloff holds a doctoral degree in English literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a member of the English Department at Louisiana State University.  Her course load at LSU routinely includes freshman composition as well as literature courses. 

When Dr. Rohloff had two deaf students enrolled in one of her freshman composition classes in the early 1990s, a long-held but undeveloped interest in American Sign Language and deaf culture was reawakened.  Her interest led to an ongoing relationship with LSU’s Office of Disability Services and soon deaf and hard of hearing students were placed in her freshman composition classes whenever possible.  It was through working with these students and recognizing their special needs in terms of English writing skills that her involvement with the PEC Grant awarded to LSU’s Office of Disability Services and the development of the DESK Program began.

Although Dr. Rohloff continues to take American Sign Language classes conducted by Louisiana School for the Deaf and has developed fundamental skills in sign language, she uses a sign language interpreter for her deaf students at LSU and in her meetings with students at LSD.

There are two important reasons that the DESK Program is directed by a person who is not fluent in ASL and has no formal training in deaf education.  First, if, as we hope, this program is to be duplicated at other post-secondary institutions, it is necessary that all institutions have faculty in place who can direct such a program.  To put it simply, all post-secondary institutions have  teachers trained in English literature and/or composition; not all post-secondary institutions have teachers trained in deaf education and/or ASL.  Thus, it is our hope that any post-secondary institution can duplicate LSU’s DESK Program.

The second reason for having the DESK Program directed by faculty member untrained in ASL and/or deaf education is because unless students plan to attend a deaf university or a post-secondary institution with a large population of deaf and hard of hearing students, most of the instructors students will encounter will not be proficient in sign language.  In fact, the reality is that students may encounter instructors with no experience with deaf or hard of hearing students or, worse, instructors who are not amenable to working with such students or accommodating their needs. Therefore, having an director who is not fluent in sign language but who is eager to work with deaf and hard of hearing students can serve to provide a transition between their present experience of having deaf educators and their possible future experiences in the post-secondary institution.

Working with the High School Teachers:

The input, cooperation, and support of the high school English teachers at Louisiana School for the Deaf continue to be essential to the success of the LSU’s DESK Program.  From the beginning work done in the classroom as part of the DESK Program has meant to supplement and coordinate with the teachers’ curricula.  When students are required to complete work in advance for DESK Program projects, it is important that such work does not place any undue burden on the students or teachers.  It is also important that the DESK Program does not in any way appear to be compensating for any deficiency in the students’ education.  Rather, we have worked very hard to make it clear to the teachers and the students that the DESK Program is meant to reinforce what is already being taught in the high school English classes. 

In any replication of the DESK Program, the program director(s) must develop a rapport with the teachers and frequently discuss the plans and progress of the program.  Each high school teacher should have a copy of one of the DESK Program Handbooks or similar workshop plans.