For today’s #FF, we are focusing on The Scranton School for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Children, an institution which more than deserves Friday’s spotlight.  Jon Konzelman, the Assistant to the Principal and the face behind @SSDHHC, describes what services The Scranton School provide for students:

“The Scranton School is non-profit, private school for deaf and hard of hearing children.  We service students and families from the ages of 3 years old through 21.  We also operate a statewide, early-intervention “Choices for Children” program; this services deaf and hard of hearing infants, toddlers, and their families.  Our mission is to prepare each student for all aspects of life through a continuum of high-quality, individualized education and extracurricular programs.  We are an active partner and resource for our community.”

Do you have any memorable stories of children who have had their lives changed by the services The Scranton School provides?Jon Konzelman: A number of our students arrive at our school with language delays — or no language at all.  They have difficulty communicating with parents, family members and the world around them.  When they arrive on campus, we are able to provide them with a language-rich environment of American Sign Language, Spoken English, and Sign-Supported English.  With hard work, over time they learn to communicate with peers, family members and staff using language.  It is a beautiful process to observe — to see the satisfaction in their faces.

“Twitter allows us to provide instantaneous information to their parents, siblings and families — even if they will not see them until the end of the week.”
–Jon Konzelman

Are you the only person that tweets? Are the posts contributed by anyone else?JK: I am responsible for the managing of the Twitter account of The Scranton School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children.  The posts are contributed by a variety of staff members that notify me of their various activities or send me information which is pertinent for us to share with our followers.  We decided to start Tweeting because it allows us a way of providing quick updates to our followers with instant, accessible information.How long have you been tweeting? JK: @SSDHHC has been in existence for two years.What expectations do you have for your Twitter account?  What do you hope people will take away from @SSDHHC? JK: Twitter allows us to keep students, parents and a community of people locally, nationally, and globally-informed about what is happening at our school.  We hope people will see that we keep information current and accurate; how we focus on our students and programs.  At The Scranton School students are our top priority.What do you think is the most interesting aspect of @SSDHHC?JK: SSDHHC serves a variety of students from a variety of geographic regions.  We have students that reside on our campus from Monday through Friday.  Twitter allows us to provide instantaneous information to their parents, siblings and families — even if they will not see them until the end of the week.How do you find and manage the content that you post on your Twitter page? JK: I read the daily updates of what is happening at our school and make sure I receive the information I need (or I go to the event myself).  If students are performing I make sure to take a picture of their performance and TwitPic it.Where can we go to learn more about The Scranton School for Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Children?JK: You can visit us on our website, Facebook and Twitter.

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Bill serves as an External Affairs Coordinator for Coterra Energy. He is focused on building community knowledge and support for the organization and industry at large.

Before his time with Coterra Energy, Bill was the original Field Director for Energy in Depth’s Northeast Marcellus campaign. Within this two-year position, Bill worked to engage, educate, and mobilize supporters of Marcellus Shale development across New York and Pennsylvania. Bill received his B.S. in Management, a B.A. in History, and an MBA from Misericordia University.