Iowa School for the Deaf holds first camp in eastern Iowa

VINTON -- The Iowa School for the Deaf has for years held week-long summer camps on its Council Bluffs campus, but school officials know that some kids in other parts of the state miss out on the opportunity due to the distance.

So this year, summer camp for Iowa students who are deaf or have hearing impairments has gone on the road.

This week, for the first time, an Iowa School for the Deaf camp is being held in the eastern part of the state, on the Vinton campus that is home to the former Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School, which no longer has a residential program but is part of a statewide system for vision services.

The state's two special schools, now under one shared superintendent and administration, have increased partnerships in recent years. The Iowa Educational Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired system has sponsored camps in western Iowa on the ISD campus since 2008.

"We have ties to this campus so why not get over here and get some different kids?" said Jolene Froehle, Iowa School for the Deaf's student life adviser who is running this week's camp in Vinton.

Many of the youngsters who take part in ISD's summer camps don't actually attend the deaf school, but are mainstreamed in classrooms in their home school district, Froehle said. Summer camp gives them a chance to meet other students who are deaf or have hearing impairments. The camp also focuses on language development, along with fun activities like bowling and art, she said.

"For some, it's their first chance to go to summer camp," she said.

Quentin Strohm, 10, is among the 11 students taking part in this week's camp in Vinton, which is for students through eighth grade. The fifth-grader from Ames also went to the all-ages summer camp last week on the ISD campus, though he is not a student there.

Quentin wanted to beef up his sign language skills, but he also likes the camp field trips and getting to know more students like him.

"It's different because there are so many people I can actually relate to," he said. "Here at these camps, there are a lot of other hearing impaired kids. I know how they feel and they know how I feel."

Jaymee Keen, who will be a sophomore this fall at Iowa School for the Deaf, has attended the school's summer camps and this week is volunteering in Vinton. Keen, 14, said it's fun for her to interact with the campers, and it allows them to meet someone who attends the deaf school.

"Most of them go to public school, so they don't know a lot of deaf kids," she said. "It's nice they find a place to fit in."