Harold Kaplan and his staff from the New York Food and Hotel Management School (NYFHM) worked with VESID (Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities) to develop a cooking class for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The "Deaf Chef" class at NYFHM is run as a self-contained class with one chef (the instructor), a teacher's assistant/ tutor, and two sign language interpreters. The program includes six months in the classroom and 300 hours in a supervised externship. Some statistics from the first class: 10 started, 8 finished the in-class portion (one withdrew for medical reasons and has returned), 6 completed the externship, and 5 are currently working in competitive employment (with the sixth continuing to actively work with the placement office to secure employment).
This model was able to take into account a wide range of skills in literacy, mathematics, and social and work-appropriate behaviors. Testimony from students, the instructor, and the other service providers has been overwhelmingly positive. The second class is currently in session and has 10 students. NYFHM would like to expand the program in two ways, first by setting up training kitchens in northern New Jersey and Westchester County, and second, by working with the school system (district 75 and BOCES) to offer this training to deaf high school students.
Donna Leshne is the NETAC site coordinator for New York State and is located at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City.
