In
2006 the first Sign Language Public Address and Emergency Alert System was installed at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf, Boston Public Schools, under the leadership of Principal Jeremiah Ford.
Principal
Ford had just completed an emergency warning system for the school where each room has a colored lighting system, red, blue,
clear, and green, each color light relays a different massage to the deaf faculty and students. The light signal is turned
on from a central location.
Pictured
from Left to right:
Ron
Liebermann, President of Signtel Inc.
Jeremiah Ford, Principal
of the Boston Horace Mann
School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Matt Stelmach and Hani Mardini,
The Maricor Group
Principal
Ford explained that they had a PA System for the hearing in sound and it only made sense to have a public address system in
Sign Language for the deaf and hard of hearing. "I want to make a difference", principal Ford told Ron Liebermann and Josh
Liebermann of Signtel Inc. If the technology is available or can be built Principle Ford was committed to providing it for
his school. Signtel Inc., in a strategic alliance with The Maricor Group New England, Inc. installed the first ever Sign Language
Public Address and Emergency Alert System at the Boston Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The hardware installation
was done by The Maricor Group of Boston, Massachusetts lead by Matt Stelmach and Hani Mardini. Today Principal
Jeremiah Ford can address his school in both speech and Sign Language.
The
Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is the oldest public
day school for the Deaf in the United States, with a rich history of providing quality education for deaf and hard of hearing students. Founded in 1869 and strengthened
by association with historical figures such as Alexander Graham Bell and Helen Keller, the Horace Mann School has been educating children and young adults for
over 135 years. http://www.boston.k12.ma.us/mann
