Signs of the times

That Fremont Elementary's volunteer sign-language learning program is just as popular as a morning outside says something - especially as the weather starts to turn.

The program attracts some 57 students school-wide to the library during one of the school day's three recess breaks.

"This is something the kids really turned on to," said Fremont principal Mark VanVoorst. "Initially, it was so they could interact with some of our hearing-impaired students; but we really feel (the program) has taken on a life of its own - it gives students confidence, and it really turns them into teachers.

"Whether they're sharing what they've learned with their friends on the playground, their parents at home, or with me in the hallway ... it's just great to see."

The program, run by instructional assistant Bruce Magner, has gone "well beyond expectations," VanVoorst said.

During the winter months, Magner said, the program is "especially crowded," but on a recent sunny Monday morning the library still teemed with first- through fifth-grade students enjoying boisterous conversations - in silence.

Walker Sineroth, 6, a first grader, said he started signing in the fall so he could teach his parents.

Now learning new words is a daily and nightly ritual.

"We go over (words) during recess, and I practice on the playground with my friends," he said. "When I go home, my parents ask me 'what did you learn?' - and I show them."

Walker's teacher, Dawn Hutson, said the program has translated to students' increased focus in the classroom.

Sometimes, she said, she's "overwhelmed" by how much they learn during their break.

"They come back and they know so much," she said. "It's just been really cool that this is an extension of their learning.

"They volunteer to go - I think that's the best part."

Third grade teacher Marlow Corletto said her students who volunteer their time to learn to sign have really taken the language to "another level."

"They'll come in and sign to me," she said. "I try to respond, and I just hope they don't look at me like I don't know what I'm doing - some are just getting so advanced."

One such third grader is Makenna Couste, 8, who said she just wanted to learn to sign because it's "just really fun."

But after having learned a bit, she said she knows there's a lot more to learn.

"It's a whole different language," she said as she showed off one of her most recent favorite new words, "March." "I really look forward to sign language class, and then doing it with my friends."

"She's a natural teacher," VanVoorst said. "She's like a lot of the students who are learning. They go right out and share what they know."

"That's what's going to help Walker become a first-grade teacher, his ability to show others, right Walker?" teacher Hutson asked.

Walker simply looked at her and made the sign for "fine."