Nancy Grosz Sager
Nancy Grosz Sager grew up successful southbound Sacramento successful the ’60s — the girl of a milkman and secretary. At an aboriginal age, she didn’t recognize that a assemblage grade was attainable until mediate schoolhouse erstwhile her homeroom teacher sparked the occurrence that would unfastened up her beingness to caller possibilities and caller vocation paths she didn’t cognize existed.
This fascination led to her majoring successful anthropology astatine the University of California, Santa Barbara, wherever she immersed herself successful learning astir civilization and language. During her elder year, she heard from a impermanent talker who talked astir her assemblage arsenic a teacher of the deaf. That infinitesimal changed Sager.
“I retrieve thinking, ‘I privation to beryllium her’,” Sager said with a laugh. “It truly acceptable maine connected the way to beryllium a teacher of the deaf.”
The pursuing summertime of 1973, Sager began taking motion connection classes done the section assemblage halfway and, later, backstage lessons specifically successful American Sign Language done friends successful the Deaf community.
“They said they wanted to thatch maine however deaf radical truly sign,” Sager said. “At the time, American Sign Language was not truly heard of.”
Sager rapidly fell successful emotion with deaf culture, which led her to Fresno State to prosecute her master’s grade successful deaf education. After earning her postgraduate grade successful 1977, she completed the Interpreter Training Program astatine American River College successful 1979.
Sager’s ties to Fresno State are idiosyncratic and intertwined with her enactment of The Silent Garden program, which, overmuch similar her ain beingness of work, provides enactment for those who raise, enactment and bid deaf and hard of proceeding children and youth. Sager’s generous acquisition of $250,000 volition spell toward the Master Gardener Endowment successful The Silent Garden to enactment a full-time manager to negociate the program.
The Silent Garden successful the College of Health and Human Services at Fresno State was created successful 2008 to foster opportunity, knowing and consciousness for the deaf and hard of proceeding assemblage successful Central California. The programme provides escaped acquisition conferences and resources to the community, arsenic good arsenic scholarships for deaf acquisition and interpreting students.
“The Silent Garden is successful afloat bloom, steadfast and much meaningful and purposeful than ever, acknowledgment to generous supporters similar Nancy,” said Dr. Paul Ogden, laminitis of The Silent Garden. “Since retiring from the California Department of Education, Nancy has been traveling to workshops and conferences, supporting everyone successful the tract of deaf education. Parents worth her knowledge, her tireless advocacy and her passionateness for assisting each teachers, families and deaf and hard of proceeding children.”
Sager’s nonrecreational travel started with the Sutter County Office of Education wherever she worked for 14 years arsenic a teacher of the deaf successful mediate schoolhouse and infant/preschool classrooms. She aboriginal worked arsenic a peculiar acquisition programme coordinator for Sutter County for 7 years earlier her relation arsenic a advisor of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Programs for the California Department of Education.
She oversaw programs that impacted implicit 17,000 deaf and hard of proceeding students successful California. From moving intimately with parents and educators to advocating for legislative laws, Sager’s committedness was palpable.
Among her top achievements was moving connected the Special Education Committee to the Commission connected Teaching Credential, wherever she advocated for a teaching credential for specialized groups, including 1 circumstantial to the acquisition of deaf and hard of proceeding students. Prior to this, the committee had included each of these groups into conscionable one, generic peculiar acquisition category.
Sager was besides astatine the forefront of California’s mandatory newborn screening proceeding test, which was written into law. Because of her advocacy, each babe with identified proceeding nonaccomplishment indispensable beryllium referred to aboriginal commencement programs and beryllium provided further resources. This azygous point-of-entry, successful collaboration with the Department of Health Services and Department of Development Services, became a proposal of the National Joint Committee connected Infant Hearing successful 2007.
However, Sager is speedy to notation among her proudest accomplishments is the enactment she accomplished alongside parents.
“During each my years successful the tract of deaf education, including the past fewer years of retirement, I person been astir passionate astir moving with parents – talking with them, supporting them, befriending them – arsenic they rise deaf and hard of proceeding children, including those with further disabilities,” Sager said. “I person traveled each implicit the U.S. and met truthful galore astonishing parents. I’ve seen that erstwhile a genitor has a person oregon advocator wrong the tract of deaf education, they bash truthful overmuch much for their deaf and hard of proceeding children.”
In 2017, Sager was recognized with the Outstanding Alumni Award for the College of Health and Human Services astatine the yearly Fresno State Top Dog Alumni Awards, successful designation for her beingness of work. Although she’s made a important interaction passim the U.S., she said the Central Valley volition ever person her support.
“I’ve attended galore colleges during my higher acquisition journey, but I ever accidental ‘I went to Fresno State,’” Sager said. “I conscionable consciousness specified a beardown transportation to the assemblage and being progressive with The Silent Garden provides maine a mode to further that connection.”
The Silent Garden programme volition big its yearly Scarlett’s Park Conference successful The Silent Garden Sept. 20 and21 — a virtual league focusing connected deaf and hard of proceeding children with peculiar needs. To registry oregon larn more, sojourn The Silent Garden website.
