How many schools for the deaf in the US use BiBi?

Question

I know Indiana School for the Deaf, Ohio SD, and Maryland SD all use BiBi, but does anyone have a specific number?

Answer 1

I've had the opportunity to do research in about 5 schools for the deaf throughout the US as well as do an internship in about two schools.  There is a BIG difference in what a school claims to do vs what is school actually DOES.  I remember at one school for the deaf the language policy was Bi/Bi with the main mode of communication being ASL.  The policy was posted throughout the school - the reality however??  Only the deaf teachers used anything closely resembling ASL.  Most of the hearing teachers, especially the older ones still used total communication.  They even had an older teacher there that was hired when the school was primarily oral back in the 60's and her signing skills were pathetic.  I have visited the Indiana School and would say that school was about as Bi/Bi as you can get for a state school for the deaf.  The hearing teachers seemed to be just as fluent as the deaf teachers and you never heard a teacher using their voice while walking through the hallways.  The Ohio School for the Deaf may be Bi/Bi in theory but not in practice.  They have too many hearing teachers that use TC.  The schools that use primarily Bi/Bi instruction are the smaller charter schools like the Rocky Mountain School for the Deaf in Colorado or the Metro School in Minn.   There is a difference between the number of schools that claim to use Bi/Bi and the number of schools that actually do use Bi/Bi.

See this site for a list of charter schools for the deaf that follow the Bi/Bi method:

http://deafness.about.com/cs/schooling/a...