March 30, 2009
Dear Friends,
I found out last Wed that I will not be offered my job at TWU. I had
a good weekend camping in east Texas at Caddo Lake and am beginning to
allow myself to think about all the aspects of finding new work. I
would very much like to work in the north Texas or southern OK area
but am open to anything that is appropriate. I am not limiting myself
to deaf education or even education. I am thinking about business or
non-profit work in a health or education area. I have good
organizational skills, sound values, am a successful grantwriter and
author, can put deals together, and enjoy empowering others. I wrote
the information below and wonder if you would help me to circulate it.
Thank you for considering any options or sharing any ideas, and for
all your love and support, Please send the information below to anyone
who is appropriate.
Barb Luetke
Email: [email protected]
I am looking for work in business, health or education. I have good
organizational skills, sound values, am a successful grant writer and
author, can put deals together, and enjoy empowering others. I
obtained my undergraduate degree with honors in Special Education from
the University of Wisconsin and my masters in deaf education from the
University of Minnesota. I was a special education teacher for five
years, teaching deaf children and others with special needs, preschool
through high school, before returning to Pennsylvania State University
for her doctorate. There she majored in Deaf Education and Bilingual
Education. I understand how to work with a variety of people with
differing abilities.
I have been a professor and director of deaf education at the
University of Nebraska, Northern State University, and the University
of Kansas; a career that encompassed some 28 years. I have designed,
conducted, and explained many research projects. My publications have
primarily focused on the areas of language and literacy, assessment,
inclusion, and reading. I have organized and presented at many
workshops and been an invited speaker in Canada, France, Taiwan,
Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. I continues to consult throughout
the United States. I also has served as a program review consultant,
an expert witness in several due process hearings, and written (and
received) over two million dollars in federal and state grants.
While directing the Deaf Education Program at the University of
Kansas, I wrote her first textbook which later was revised into two
methods books, Language Issues in Deaf Education and Language Across
the Curriculum. Both are published by Butte, Publications in
Hillsboro, OR. (866-312-8883). I have also written almost a 100
nationally-refereed, professional journal articles and books chapters,
parent books, and a novelette for children. I wrote a book about the
various ways to sign, The Signing Family (published by Gallaudet
Press) and a children’s book, Hannie (Butte Publications) about a
hearing girl who has deaf sisters and classmates. It has been adopted
by the State of NC for distribution in public schools where students
with hearing loss are enrolled.
I am is the mother of four daughters, two of whom are deaf-and told
my family’s story in my most popular book, One Mother’s Story (Modern
Sign Press; 800-572-7332). It has been translated into Chinese. My
deaf daughters are now in college. Both have intelligible speech,
age-appropriate English–and one is married to a deaf, ASL-using man
who is also a college senior.
I have worked as a reading coordinator in a rural HS; as a SPED ED
team leader in an urban middle school (MS); as a middle school reading
teacher, as an ESL consultant; and as a HS sign instructor. I have
conducted a series of workshops for those working with infants and
toddlers (0-3 years) who are D/HH. In 2004, 1 published a book with
Dr. Diane Nielsen, entitled, Deaf Students Can Be Great Readers
(Modern Sign Press). I currently teach a variety of Web-based courses
in deaf education and literacy at Texas Women’s University in Denton,
TX. but my contract ends this summer. In the past I have taught
courses that include language development, working with parents and
professionals, multiply-handicapped deaf, sign, literacy development,
deaf culture, and pre-practica and student teaching supervision. Two
years ago I wrote (with Dr. Al White) and was awarded a federal grant
to train teachers of the deaf all over the United States, using the
internet. My research on this work will be published this spring in
the American Annals of the Deaf. I adapted over a dozen courses for
long distance learning and responsible for training over 300 teachers
of the deaf and four professors in deaf education during her career.
I am seeking employment. The best way to contact her is to email to
[email protected] or call, 972-943-8572. Her mailing address is 203
Oakbrook, Lewisville, TX. 75057. Thank you for sharing this letter of
introduction with others who might be interested.
Barbara Luetke, Ph.D
Visiting Professor
Deaf Education COMS
Texas Women’s University