[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 52 (Monday, March 26, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E641-E642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE CAREER OF DENNIS GJERDINGEN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. RICHARD E. NEAL

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 26, 2007

  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, today I wish to recognize 
and honor a dedicated and innovative educator, Mr. Dennis Gjerdingen, 
upon his retirement after 26 years as principal of the Clarke School 
for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts.
  Dennis became interested in childhood deafness when, in 1964, he 
learned that his newborn son was deaf. He trained as a teacher of 
social studies and English at Minnesota State University, received his 
masters in Speech and Hearing at Washington University in St. Louis and 
did post-masters work there in Educational Administration. He spent 14 
years at Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, as a classroom 
teacher, researcher, associate professor, assistant to the director and 
as headmaster, before coming to Clarke School for the Deaf in 1981. He 
is the 6th president in Clarke's 140-year history.
  Clarke School is an international leader in teaching listening, 
speech, language and academic skills to deaf children and assisting 
families and training professionals to work with them. During his 
tenure, Mr. Gjerdingen has reorganized the Clarke School and its 
structure to position Clarke for a rapidly changing future. He designed 
and administered new Clarke programs, including the creation of the 
Center for Oral Education on the Northampton campus that helps people 
of all ages with hearing loss. In the last 10 years, Mr. Gjerdingen 
spearheaded a strategic plan to expand Clarke to 5 campuses with 4 new 
schools for young children in Boston, MA, Jacksonville, FL, New York 
City, and Philadelphia, PA. Clarke School for the Deaf now impacts the 
lives of more than 10,000 children and adults annually through its 
educational programs, research, curriculum development and professional 
training.
  The author of more than 30 articles in professional journals, Mr. 
Gjerdingen is widely recognized as an expert in the field. In 1987 he 
was appointed by Congress to the Commission on the Education of the 
Deaf that reported directly to Congress and the President. During this 
appointment, he helped author a report from which major legislation was 
adopted. He has also served as president of the International Alexander 
Graham Bell Association.
  It is my great privilege to honor Mr. Gjerdingen for his commitment 
to providing greater educational opportunities for deaf children and 
their families and professionals around the country.

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