In October, soon after starting her fth-grade year at Palmetto
Elementary, Ashley was accepted at the Florida School for the
Deaf & the Blind in St. Augustine (FSDB) - one of the top such
schools in the nation. Tuition-free, this Florida public school
serves eligible Pre-K and K-12 students who are deaf/hard of
hearing, blind/visually impaired, or deafblind. By all accounts,
Ashley is thriving at her new school.
Opportunity and Sacrifice
“I knew Ashley would be a star in St. Augustine,” said Margaret
Cornell, Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Manatee
County. “She’s a rock star.”
Cornell has known Ashley for eight years. She’s worked with her
off and on, including in Pre-K. It was Cornell who made Ashley
and her parents aware of the Florida School for the Deaf & the
Blind (FSDB) and helped the family through the application
process last summer.
At Palmetto Elementary, Ashley had an interpreter in all her
classes, but Cornell knew Ashley would blossom at FSDB.
“I thought it would be a better match for Ashley and her
personality,” Cornell said. “She was the only deaf child here.
There was a language delay and so school was very hard. I knew
Ashley was so smart. Going to school with just an interpreter
was not enough.”
Ashley loves that at her new school, all the teachers and the deaf
students use sign language. The rst thing she noticed when
she visited FSDB was that the counselor giving the tour had the
same cochlear implant she has.
So now, Ashley attends school as a boarder on weekdays,
sleeping in a dorm with girls her age and eating meals in a dining
hall. Her classes are small – six to eight students in each - and
they include American Sign Language, English, and physical
education every day. She swims, runs, plays games, and in her
free time, she draws. She takes the school’s free bus to and from
home in Bradenton on Fridays and Sundays.
Switching to a school in St. Augustine was a difcult choice - not
so much for Ashley - but for her parents. Cornell noted that, while
it was difcult to let go of their 12-year-old daughter, Ashley’s
parents ultimately want what’s best for her. “It was a real act of love
and sacrice to allow Ashley to go to St. Augustine,” Cornell said.
Family Weekends
Ashley’s mother, Antonia, recalls crying as she packed Ashley’s
school things in October. “I wanted to hold on to my baby, but
I had to let her go,” Antonia said, via Spanish translator, Alicia
Vargas- Perez, parent liaison for Palmetto Elementary School.
“The rst time we went, we saw Ashley was so happy, I resolved
not to cry in front of her.”
So, Ashley’s parents and her brothers Roman, 15, and Kevin,
8, make the most of their weekends with Ashley. They enjoy
home-cooked meals together, go to church, and the siblings play
soccer and video games. They have movie nights with popcorn
and homemade chicharrones. “I look forward to Fridays,” Antonia
said. “I make it special.”
Ashley’s father Roman, who works in Sarasota and takes the bus,
goes out of his way to get home in time for the entire family to
pick up Ashley each Friday. “For me and my husband, Ashley is
our princess,” Antonia said. “Roman takes care that everything
is special for our children, and at the same time we teach them
the importance of being united to say goodbye and pick up
Ashley from the bus.”
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