Albuquerque Sign Language Academy
Grants Awarded
The Albuquerque Sign Language Academy (ASLA) provides a dual-language educational program for deaf and hard of hearing students, empowering them and their families through the Honey Badger Conservation Crew (HBCC). This initiative emphasizes hands-on learning in natural settings, fostering skills and careers in the outdoors while promoting inclusivity. By enhancing access to outdoor experiences, the program not only transforms the lives of participants but also nurtures the next generation of environmental stewards within the community.
The Albuquerque Sign Language Academy (ASLA) Honey Badger Conservation Crew empowers deaf, hard of hearing, and students with disabilities by engaging them in environmental sciences through interactive outdoor activities. This program aims to enhance participants' skills while fostering a connection to nature, ultimately promoting community involvement and access to outdoor experiences in New Mexico.
As the only dual language American Sign Language (ASL) school in our state, we work towards inclusivity through collaborative efforts with partners and the ASL community. Serving schools with high percentages of students with Individualized Education Programs (IEP), the aim is to ensure all program activities and events are inclusive, meeting state common core standards, and provide summer opportunities for deaf or hard of hearing students.
The Albuquerque Sign Language Academy (ASLA) Honey Badger Conservation Crew supports deaf, hard of hearing, and students with disabilities access the outdoors in hands on through meaningful conservation service while tying classroom learning to real world experiences. ASLA focuses on the environmental sciences in a fun and interactive way through a series of outdoor activities while learning new skills and activities which encourage youth and their families to access the outdoors in and around New Mexico.
The ASLA Outdoor Equity program, in sync with the Outdoor Equity Fund, involves deaf, hard of hearing, and students of different abilities and their families in conservation, educational, and citizen science activities in various natural environments. An agenda under ASLA Community Schools, the program uses research-based curricula for interactive learning of water resource management, land history, nature walks, and identification of wildlife and plants. As a tool for social inclusion, the initiative provides historically stigmatized and marginalized communities, especially those dealing with mental health issues, easier access to outdoor experiences like fishing, archery, hiking, agriculture, and land- or water-based education initiatives.
The Albuquerque Sign Language Academy Honey Badger Conservation Crew (ASLA Honey Badger Crew) is a unique opportunity to engage a variety of partners with the purpose of engaging an undeserved population of students who are primarily deaf and hard of hearing. The Albuquerque Sign Language Academy (ASLA) is an ASL-English tuition-free public charter school. We believe that a language-rich, hands-on, and inclusive learning environment that is carefully tailored to support each student’s unique needs will give them the opportunity to flourish and reach their full potential. As a certified ASL-English dual language school, we provide direct instruction in American Sign Language to all students. We have proven over the past 13+ years that there are opportunities to improve on deaf education through our award-winning models. Albuquerque Sign Language Academy is a school which was founded on inclusive principles, and we would reach out to deaf / hard of hearing youth for the positions. We intend to send emails to our deaf resources partners to promote the Outdoor Equity programming and also inform our communities about Outdoor Equity programming to create opportunities to access the outdoors for marginalized and underserved communities. As one of the state’s leading dual language schools, ASLA is an expert in teaching and leading youth of all abilities and specializes in supporting deaf, hard of hearing and youth with and without disabilities. Staff from ASLA and conservation partners have decades of experience in educating, training, and supervising youth in conservation, outdoor education, and working in the outdoors. ASLA operates as a Community School and the school has over sixty active community partners. The outdoor education program of ASLA will integrate the Honey Badger Conservation Crew and Outdoor Equity programming into the critical translation of classroom learning to hands on conservation work and support the youth transition of school to career. ASLA has created and operated a community service type Honey Badger Conservation Crew program the last 5 years during the traditional school day and out of school times, but Outdoor Equity provides breaking down barriers to the outdoors for our underserved communities.