http://yankton.net/articles/2012/07/27/community/doc50121163f1568331533245.txt

Grant Provides Sound Improvements For YSD

Members of the Yankton Sertoma Club and the Yankton School District (YSD) recently announced an $8,000 grant which helped the club purchase additional Soundfield FM systems for more classrooms in YSD. The club started the Better Community Through Better Hearing Project, which helps put the systems in schools all across the area. (Kelly Hertz/P&D)

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

The Yankton Sertoma Club recently announced an $8,000 grant they received to provide additional soundfield systems for the Yankton School District (YSD).

Four years ago the club began a program aimed at purchasing and placing Soundfield FM systems into local classrooms in the area. The group began the project by purchasing one system each year. Since then, the project has expanded to include the purchase of two systems a year.

“A Soundfield system provides better amplification for a teacher’s voice,” said Matt Rumsey, Yankton Sertoma Hearing Committee Chairman. “The teacher does not need to talk as loud, students pay more attention to the teacher and perform better as a result.”

Soundfield systems are designed for hearing impaired students, but they also help all students hear the teacher’s voice better, Rumsey noted. Currently the systems are spread out throughout the schools in the    district.

Rumsey added the Sertoma club in Yankton focuses heavily on the hearing impaired community in the area, and these systems are a cost effective way to help the whole classroom.

“Anytime you can make students in classrooms more attentive, it’ll help out education,” he said. “By getting the systems through the grant, it’ll save YSD a good amount of money.”

Principal Regan Manning at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Yankton asked for a system about four years ago, Rumsey said. After that request, the club took initiative to develop a project to put systems across other schools throughout the area.

The American Speech, Language and Hearing Association identifies several ways that hearing loss impacts children. It causes delays in the development of receptive and expressive communication skills, language deficits cause learning problems that lead to reduced academic achievement, and communication difficulties often will lead to social isolation. All of these lead to reduced vocational options — problems that the soundfield systems could help address.

Researchers at Michigan State University found that students who use the soundfield FM systems show improvements in mean spelling scores and significant improvements in scholastic reading achievement scores as well.

Sheryl Rehurek, a fourth-grade teacher in the Yankton School District, was quick to praise the Soundfield systems in her classroom.

“I believe the children are more active listeners with the system,” she said. “I know more are participating in class because of the opportunity and their classmates are listening better as well.”

After looking over the research and the first-hand experience teachers are having with the systems, members of the Sertoma club and YSD think the project will be a nice benefit to the students in the schools, and the entire community.

So far, the seven systems in place have impacted about 475 students, and the additional 10 systems, to be implemented for the 2012-13 school year, would immediately impact another 225 students.

Based on current experiences with the systems already in place, members of the club believe the new and continuing additions have the potential to impact the community in “immeasurable ways.”