As part of its mission to pursue the highest quality education programs for the region’s deaf and hard-of-hearing children, WPSD places its students in public and private school classrooms whenever such arrangements are considered feasible and beneficial. This policy commonly known as “mainstreaming,” enables WPSD students to enjoy the best of both worlds - learning to interact with hearing children while continuing to reap the benefits of WPSD’s communication-rich environment, specialized services and deaf peers and role models.

Educational opportunities abound at WPSD through our mainstream programs for Lower, Middle and High School students. The mainstream program allows WPSD students to:

• Participate in learning activities with their hearing peers
• Share their culture with those who may have no understanding of deafness
• Take advantage of some courses that are not offered at WPSD
  
  LOWER/MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Lower and Middle School students have the opportunity to be mainstreamed into local private schools provided they meet specific criteria and an opening exists in the mainstreaming program that meets the child’s needs. SAT and PSSA scores, along with other data, are considered in the decision to mainstream a student.
  
  HIGH SCHOOL
  Upon agreement at a student’s IEP, High School juniors and seniors have the opportunity to attend an off-campus vocational training program. Students in this program must demonstrate a unique interest in a vocational area for which training is not provided by WPSD and must have a high likelihood of using these skills upon graduation.