Tera Spangler is working to give Colorado’s deaf and blind students the education she never had growing up.

Earlier this year, she was selected as the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind’s (CSDB) next superintendent. As the first deaf superintendent in the school’s 150-year history, her appointment marked the latest step in a storied tenure dating back to 2006 when she started as a teacher.

Pulling from her own experiences as a deaf student and educator, Spangler aims to shine a light on the school’s unique offerings that students may not find elsewhere.

“I didn’t even know that this experience was out there, that it existed. I didn’t know I needed this experience to develop my identity,” she said.

A mainstreamed upbringing

Spangler was not born deaf, but gradually lost her hearing at age 10 from the side effects of either cancer or its treatment. Born and raised in a small rural town in Iowa, her options for specialized instruction were limited and although the Iowa School for the Deaf was an option, she opted to stay in her school.

“Looking back, I should have done it sooner — I needed them sooner, but I was stubborn, and I wanted to be like everybody else,” she said. “I was the only one in my school — even in the town and the surrounding area — I was the only deaf person, so it was natural to want to be just like everybody else.”

Going with the process known as “mainstreaming,” Spangler finished her public education alongside her fellow classmates through hearing aids and lip-reading. It was only when she began attending college when she would learn American Sign Language (ASL) and even meet another deaf person for the first time in her life.

Spangler knew she wanted to be a teacher from an early age but didn’t know that specifically teaching students like her was even an option until this same time.

“I didn’t even think about that possibility just because I didn’t have any experience or exposure with anyone who was deaf, deaf culture, deaf identity, I didn’t have any of that,” she said. “I was immersed in the hearing culture. That was my experience up until that point.”

Spangler’s desire to work with deaf students led her to transfer to the University of Omaha and graduate with a double major in general education and deaf education. She would ultimately move to Colorado and begin teaching at CSDB in 2006.

She’s remained with the school ever since, assuming roles as a teacher, principal, director and interim superintendent before her appointment as superintendent.

“I want them to know what I didn’t know”

Despite originally coming to teach deaf students, Spangler quickly adapted to meet the needs of the school’s blind students as well. During her 18 years with the school, Spangler has seen the school develop its Expanded Core Curriculum for blind students which applies nine specific areas of life skills into its academic instruction. The goal is to prepare students for living successful, independent lives after graduation and includes instruction on cooking, self-care, navigation and technology application.

Another recent development has been the integration of bilingual instruction for deaf students by teaching ASL at a young age as they also develop their native language through social interactions. The result is a stronger foundation for students to learn English as their second language later on in their education.

Throughout the entire campus, building renovations have been ongoing in recent years to address needs ranging from space and accessibility in the blind school to security upgrades and assistive technology for all students.

Its most recent addition is a newly designed accessible playground for students with additional disabilities set to open at the start of the school year.

“We were actually able to get funding this year to finally to make that dream of those students come true,” Spangler said. “It was a huge ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) playground project, and it is so very cool.”

Upon her appointment as the school’s next superintendent, Spangler faced issues mentioned by stakeholders included student enrollment and recruiting qualified teachers and staff.

Spangler acknowledged the greater challenge the school faces in recruitment since the school’s teachers often need two degrees or additional licensure or certifications to teach deaf and blind students respectively.

This need for additional training also extends to other faculty and staff who need to be able to work and communicate with blind and deaf students despite being employed as a counselor or nurse.

To make job openings more attractive, the school has begun offering sign-on bonuses and providing temporary housing to out-of-state hires while also partnering with local colleges to speed up certification processes and offer internships for future educators.

“So, we are trying different things,” she said. “We’re definitely not resolving everything (and) there’s still definitely a challenge.”

Perhaps the biggest challenge going forward for CSDB, like many public schools, remains to be student enrollment. Spangler admitted that they have experienced declining enrollment in recent years likely due to multiple factors.

Since students like her knew of deaf and blind schools existing growing up but perhaps not all they provide, she believes a similar lack of understanding might play a role and plans to increase public awareness of CSDB going forward.

As for what makes the school the ideal option for the local deaf and blind students 150 years later, Spangler said its sense of community to let them share experiences and develop their identities together remains one of its greatest strengths.

“I want them to know what I didn’t know and what I didn’t figure out until later in my own life,” she said.