Silence is a sign of students’ hard work in Robin Schwarz’s classroom at Strawberry Crest High School.
The end of school is fast approaching, and her students are studying for final exams, with laptops open and papers spread across the desks. They are sitting still except for their hands, which move at a rapid-fire pace to convey words, thoughts and emotions to one another.
Schwarz’s students are practicing American Sign Language.
On Tuesday, April 26, Schwarz’s students will host the 2016 ASL Extravaganza at Strawberry Crest, a countywide initiative that promotes both the ASL language and the inclusion of the deaf and hearing-impaired communities.
Sign Them Up
The annual ASL Extravaganza involves students from seven schools around Hillsborough County performing a sign language concert. Music and lyrics are played in the background, and students silently sign along to the song.
This is the second time Strawberry Crest will host the event, after previously hosting it in 2011. This year, ASL students jumped at the opportunity to hold the event.
“I think we’re a good location, off of I-4,” Schwarz said. “We’ve always had a good number of students participate.”
Schwarz noted that the schools in East Hillsborough County, especially, have a big turnout for the event.
“The students here, at Strawberry Crest, have always shown a strong commitment to the program and the language,” Schwarz said. “They’re singing the songs in an attempt to share the language, but also to allow their families and friends to understand what they’re doing.”
Strawberry Crest offers three class levels for American Sign Language, with students in the third level belonging to the ASL honor society. Next year, the school is planning on bringing back a fourth ASL level.
The students in Schwarz’s higher-level classes are mostly seniors and will do a special sign performance of Five for Fighting’s “100 Years.”
Other Strawberry Crest students will be performing songs related to friendship and relationships. All participating schools, Schwarz said, pick their own themes before coming to the event.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to share what our students are doing inside the classroom,” she said. “We try to pick songs that are fun.”
Crest Cares
While teaching, Schwarz reminds her students to look at sign language as a minority language and not something that is only used by the deaf or hard of hearing.
“We don’t look at it as a disability point,” Schwarz said. “ASL is a concept language. You have to look at … the concept behind what’s being said. You find people that are deaf anywhere, everywhere.”
Though the sign aficionados at Crest have invited members of the deaf community to their extravaganza, it won’t be the students’ first time interacting with them. Many of them come across the deaf and hearing impaired at their part-time jobs, in service organizations and in the community.
“Since they are a minority … they see who the other people are who care about them. There’s a connection between the deaf and the hearing,” Selena Vang, one of the higher-level ASL students, said.
The chance to meet students who share their same passion for the language and the deaf community has gotten the Crest Chargers excited about the event.
“I am happy that we’re hosting it, because we get to introduce schools,” ASL student Kiersten Bass said. “We get to do the creative side of it and make it more our own.”
Ultimately, both Schwarz and her students hope that guests take something away from the extravaganza — whether it’s a newfound appreciation for the language or the desire to learn more.
“I hope to attract new people to the program,” Schwarz said. “If somebody walked out knowing a sign, I think that would be extremely cool.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.