About PSI

About the PSI Project

Vision

The Preparing School Interpreters (PSI) Project (OSEP: H325K210024: 2021-2026) vision is to increase the quantity and quality of interpreters working in public school systems by investing in the academic and practical preparation of ASL-English interpreting students. In addition, the PSI Project will support their induction into the public school system through mentoring and communities of learning and practice, and the introduction to their work as school interpreters through guided professional development opportunities. The ultimate goal is for ASL-English interpreting students to function on and contribute to an interdisciplinary educational team that supports students who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Values

To achieve this vision, the PSI Project embraces these values:

• Recognizes that interpreting in a school environment is a specialization built upon the foundation of Witter-Merithew and Johnson’s (2005) Entry-to-Practice Competencies, outlined in the University of Northern Colorado’s (UNC) ASL-English Interpretation (ASLEI) BA program.
• Recognizes that an interpreter in education works with and for everyone in the school (Brimm, 2018; Fitzmaurice, 2018, Johnson et al., 2018), not just the deaf and hard of hearing student(s) assigned for the academic year; as such the school interpreter should be prepared to be a contributing member of the educational team.
• Recognizes that many school interpreters work without interaction with other interpreters or knowledgeable oversight from an interpreter supervisor (Weirick, 2021; Johnson et al., 2018); therefore, they require reflective analysis skills to support their life-long learning and the services they provide in the school setting.
• Recognizes that the school interpreter is often the only individual in deaf and hard of hearing students’ lives who has direct, unmediated communication with them.
• Recognizes the interpreter’s responsibility is to accommodate the language needs of the student who is deaf or hard of hearing, requiring fluency in the spectrum of signing, from ASL to visual English.
• Supports interpreters in creating professional networks and relationships with other school interpreters, as well as affiliating with the national interpreting community.
• Recognizes that diverse perspectives provide depth and balance to learning experiences and one’s personal growth.
• Believes a pathway to learning requires exploration and discovery via dialogic engagement with colleagues.

Objectives

The PSI Project has five OSEP-approved objectives:

1. Review and revise existing American Sign Language-English Interpretation (ASLEI) BA curriculum and integrate units of learning with the necessary scope and sequence to develop a new 15-credit interdisciplinary School Interpreting Series.
2. Expand internship site agreements nationally to increase interdisciplinary collaborative opportunities.
3. Deliver campus-based and distance-delivered upper division coursework to include the interdisciplinary School Interpreting Series to 27 OSEP Scholars.
4. Design and implement an induction-mentorship experience to bridge Scholars’ transition from academic studies to the educational workplace.
5. Support professional activities for OSEP Scholars as they enter the field of interpreting.