North Dakota School for the Deaf Society

North Dakota School for the Blind Superintendent has been named the North Dakota School for the Deaf interim Superintendent

From the newsroom of the Grand Forks Herald, Grand Forks, North Dakota, Thursday, June 16, 2005 .....

Suminski named interim School for Deaf superintendent

JAMES MacPHERSON
Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. - The head of the North Dakota School for the Blind has taken over as interim superintendent for the state's School for the Deaf.

Carmen Grove Suminski began her additional duties on Wednesday. She replaces Rocky Cofer, who resigned for personal reasons last month after 10 years with the Devils Lake-based School for the Deaf.

Suminski said she will work with Cofer during the transition.

"I am not expert in deafness," she said. "I am in blindness."

Suminski will continue to be based out of Grand Forks, at the School for the Blind. She said she will visit the school in Devils Lake regularly, including meetings on Monday with the staff and on May 24 with alumni, students and families.

Cofer had served as both superintendent and director of education. A search is under way for a new education director, a position responsible for onsite management and curriculum. The job should be filled in about a month, Suminski said.

State School Superintendent Wayne Sanstead said he does not know when a permanent superintendent will be sought.

"That's going to be a matter for down the road," Sanstead said. "I have no intention of putting (Suminski) in the role permanently. This is clearly an interim position. I'm just happy she's willing to do it."

Suminski has been at the School for the Blind since 1991. She said that job has enabled her to meet some of the School for the Deaf's faculty, which includes about 10 full- and part-time teachers.

"I have the advantage of knowing several members of the school and I really respect them and their expertise in deafness," Suminski said. "I am wanting to work with them to make the best possible situation."

Sanstead and Suminski said it is important that the campus remain open, but that it faces a difficult future as the number of children statewide declines and more focus is placed on educating all children in public school settings.

"There is no agenda to close it," Suminski said. "It serves a very vital purpose to the state and for deaf students and their families. That needs to continue - but it may not in the same way as we see it today."

A task force in 2003 recommended three alternatives for the school:

_Continue with current operations, with a focus on increasing enrollment;

_Collaborate more with other governmental entities in the region to reduce costs;

_Focus more on outreach services, with fewer on-campus programs.

This past school year, the School for the Deaf had 27 students in preschool through 12th grade, and only one graduate.

"It's evident more and more districts are serving students with deaf needs," Sanstead said.

Copyright 2005 Grand Forks Herald