Jodi Pierstorff

This is what I'm supposed to do," sign language teacher Jodi Pierstorff said.A graduate of Celina High School, Jodi said she became interested in sign language when she read the story of Helen Keller when she was still in junior high school.After high school, she attended Sinclair College where she studied sign language.She and her husband Eric have three children: Rachel, Sarah, and Joshua.After having her children, she returned to college at Wright State University.

She started working as an interpreter for a child a Celina Schools when Dr. Eugene Linton, Mercer County Educational Service Center superintendent, told her the county was going to start teaching a sign language class.In 2000-2001, Jodi had 15-20 students in three schools.This year she has 170 students in 9 schools which she teaches seven periods a day over IVDL (internet visual distance learning).

In Sign I, the students learn the alphabet and numbers, the history of sign language which began in France in 1815, and vocabulary.Now there are four levels of sign language taught over the internet.

Although Jodi's home classroom is at Marion Local High School, she and the students can communicate directly over the internet.Schools involved include Crestview, Parkway, Celina, Coldwater, Ft. Recovery, Marion Local, Minster, New Bremen, and New Knoxville.Jodi also goes to the individual schools during the year.

Currently the program is in the first year of a two-year grant.Some students also pay a fee to take the course which helps pay for the expenses.

Jodi explained that sign language is the third most used language in the U.S.There are over 40,000 deaf people in Montgomery county alone.Once students and adults learn sign language there opportunities for employment increase.There are many opportunities for students to become interpreters which pay $45-$55 an hour.Most colleges now accept sign language to meet the foreign language requirement.

In addition to her school work, Jodi also teaches sign language to adults at the First Baptist Church in Celina and as an interpreter at the Hope Assembly of God Church.

Jodi said that many students who do not do well in other classes do well in sign classes because they are visual learners.She reminded me that the deaf can do anything we can do, except they can't hear.