MFHS sign language students visit Texas School for the Deaf
Marble Falls High School American Sign Language students visited The Texas School for the Deaf on March 26. The students posed outside of the school after their tour, meeting staff and learning about the history of the campus. Staff photo by Jack Smith
Marble Falls High School students studying American Sign Language visited the Texas School for the Deaf on March 26 for a real-life Deaf culture experience.
Founded in 1857, the school is a state-operated primary and secondary school for deaf children located in Austin. MFHS American Sign Language teacher Tammi Farrington orchestrated the trip. Students toured the school, including its heritage museum, which holds memorabilia from former students. They also learned about the school’s STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) curriculum and extracurricular programs while practicing their sign language skills.
“Our field trip was an amazing opportunity for our students to have an immersive interaction with the Deaf community that, sadly, we do not often get to experience,” Farrington told DailyTrib.com. “I believe that this was one of the best possible ways for students to gain knowledge and appreciation for the language and culture.”
As the oldest public school in Texas, students were introduced to the Deaf community’s rich cultural history.
“Austin has an incredible Deaf community, and my hope is that (students) see a small piece of that in action,” Farrington said. “TSD has been around since before our capitol building—it is rich with Deaf history that we only just got to tap into. … We were blessed with a wonderful tour guide and interpreter.”
Ursa Rewolinski, a deaf woman who is the sign language specialist at the school and the first woman football coach at TSD, shared that the school often hosts about 10-12 tours a year for high school students and 20 for the general public. Rewolinski believes these tours are important for sharing Deaf culture.
“There’s a lot of misinformation, misassumptions, based on people thinking deaf people can’t do stuff, and that’s because deaf students in the mainstream are very limited,” Rewolinski told DailyTrib.com. “People (have) misconceptions of what deaf people can do—like needing an interpreter their whole life. I live my life, and I’m good, right? I mean, I’d do anything that anyone would do; I’m just deaf.”
The tours also serve as outreach for the deaf community, introducing deaf students to all the programs and activities the school has to offer.
“Some deaf people don’t know we exist still; they don’t even know we’re here,” Rewolinski said. “Then they visit, and they take a tour, and they feel like they can have a typical high school experience like anybody else.”
Overall, Farrington found the trip to be a successful learning experience.
“I believe God’s hand was all over this trip,” Farrington said. “I have heard so many students say how much they enjoyed the whole day. They were impressed by the school and all that it offers, and all of the fantastic sports and competitions that TSD is involved in. Especially the culinary and robotics programs.”
Farrington said she hopes her students gathered one key takeaway from the visit.
“I hope they learned that the Deaf community is truly welcoming and that they encourage interaction from those learning ASL,” she said. “I also hope they learned to take a step of faith and trust that they have the skills and knowledge to start conversations.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was written by DailyTrib.com intern Jack Smith, a junior at Marble Falls High School. Smith is participating in the DailyTrib.com 2025 Spring Journalism Internship and will periodically contribute reports, features, photos, and stories on his school and community throughout his time with the publication.