JTC News
Fletcher Jones Foundation Donates $1 Million to JTC in honor of Dickinson C. Ross
Posted on May 01 2013, 2:42:36 PM | Posted by jtcweb
John Tracy Clinic dedicated its early childhood education center today in honor of Dickinson C. Ross, chairman emeritus of Johnson & Higgins of California, thanks to an extraordinary $1 million grant from the Fletcher Jones Foundation to honor Mr. Ross’s many years of service on its Board of Trustees. The center will be named the “Dickinson C. Ross Center for Education and Innovation” and is home to John Tracy Clinic’s world renowned educational programs for young children with hearing loss.
The Fletcher Jones Foundation was incorporated in 1969 in the State of California by Fletcher Roseberry Jones, co-founder of Computer Sciences Corporation, a worldwide business technology firm. After the untimely death of Fletcher Jones in 1972, the original Trustees of the Foundation decided that support of the private colleges and universities in California should be their primary emphasis. That policy has been reaffirmed by subsequent Trustees and continues to this day.
John Tracy Clinic was founded in 1943 by Hollywood legend Spencer Tracy and his wife, Louise, whose son, John, was born deaf. John Tracy Clinic is the world’s largest private provider of services to newborns and young children with—or at risk for—hearing loss. JTC is the only institution in Southern California to provide audiological, developmental and educational services for children with hearing loss in children from birth through age 5 and their parents.
Dickinson C. Ross, chairman emeritus of Johnson & Higgins, has dedicated his life to service and philanthropy. He is a member of the emeritus board of John Tracy Clinic and served on the board of directors for 26 years. Other affiliations include the California Science Center and National Health Foundation.
JTC’s Betty Sackett receives LAUP Preschool Teacher of the Year Award
Posted on April 09 2013, 3:03:22 PM | Posted by jtcweb
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Congratulations to JTC's very own 2013 Los Angeles Universal Preschool Teacher of the Year Award Winner Beatriz Sackett! Betty received her award on Thursday, April 4th at a gala event at the Globe Theatre at Universal Studios Hollywood. Family and colleagues were on hand to cheer on Betty as she was recognized for her ground-breaking work, dedication and service at JTC. Jill Muhs, Vice President of Programs at JTC, commented “Bravo, Betty! You are a treasure and this is a well-deserved honor. We are all thrilled that your work to help deaf children develop, thrive and grow has been recognized by LAUP.”
Alumni Update: Maggie started with “go” and hasn’t stopped since!
Posted on April 09 2013, 10:14:48 AM | Posted by jtcweb
Hi to everyone at JTC!
I was a summer school student in June of 1994 when I was 2 years old. I am now 21 years old and completing my second year of college where I am majoring in culinary technology and nutrition. I graduated with honors from a Charter high school in 2011 and I am attending college on a full academic scholarship. I now have bilateral cochlear implants, receiving the first one at age 3 and the second one just two years ago. Even though I do not remember my time at JTC, my family has always talked about the program with great respect and love. When I attended the program that summer, they taped me making a milkshake using a blender and I said the word “go” for the first time. My mother told me how happy that made her and how she knew that was just the beginning of my journey with speech. I am very happy and grateful for JTC and all the help they gave me and my family,for not only the knowledge we received that summer but for the confidence to continue on the journey when we returned home.
Thank-you!
Maggie S.
Desert Friends of JTC Polo Party a Success
Posted on March 12 2013, 2:07:51 PM | Posted by jtcweb
Special thanks to Georgia Jones, President of The Desert Friends of John Tracy Clinic, and Event Chair Kathi Salvog (Pictured here with Gaston Kent, president and CEO of JTC) for a fabulous Polo Party at the Empire Polo Club on Sunday, March 10th.
The event, attended by more than 200 guests, raised funds and awareness for JTC.
JTC Video Premieres in Germany
Posted on February 19 2013, 7:25:48 PM | Posted by jtcweb
A new JTC video was shown at a recent AVT Conference in Germany. Studying Abroad: A Family’s Journey documents a German family’s life-changing experience at John Tracy Clinic. They started in JTC’s distance program for parents, participated in a JTC international summer session and then moved to the U.S. to attend JTC’s onsite preschool. As the family prepared to return home to Europe, they describe dramatic changes in their child’s communication and in their confidence. The mother, Antje Germar, was invited to present at the AVT conference in Berlin in January 2013 and her segment concluded with this JTC video.
JTC Alum Successfully Champions Captioning in Santa Monica Movie Theaters
Posted on January 30 2013, 9:58:45 PM | Posted by jtcweb
John Butchko, a 13-year-old JTC alum, has successfully championed the cause of captioning in theaters in the city of Santa Monica. Read about his success here.
Desert Friends of JTC Invite You to a Polo Party
Posted on January 24 2013, 1:30:53 PM | Posted by jtcweb
Pony up for a good cause, while enjoying Sunday brunch and watching Polo
Sunday, March 10th, 2013
Gates open at 11:45 a.m.
Empire Polo Club
Ave 50, between Madison & Monroe
$100 per person
Please RSVP before March 3rd
Attire: country club casual, no heels
Download RSVP card here and mail with check to:
Sally Warjone
75-097 Spy Glass Dr.
Indian Wells, CA 92210
For more information, contact Amy Schweiger at 213-748-5481 ext. 323 or email via this contact form.
JTC is Offering a Summer Program for Spanish-English Bilingual Families
Posted on January 15 2013, 4:12:59 PM | Posted by jtcpals
For families speaking Spanish at home but whose young child with hearing loss attends a preschool conducted in English, JTC is offering an opportunity to support parents’ bilingual efforts. JTC’s 2013 International Summer Session Two (June 16-28 2013) will include a spoken language JTC English preschool program for bilingual children. The preschoolers’ individual speech language sessions will be in both Spanish and English. The parent education classes will be in Spanish. The parents’ topics will include discussions for developing a family plan to promote bilingual learning. JTC has been providing this approach for years to local families with much success and is expanding to serve families from other areas! This program is designed for families already helping their child learn both English and Spanish.
The primary students in the Summer Session are the parents who can acquire in-depth knowledge and skills to become educational advocates for their children. There will be daily intensive adult education classes in Spanish for all the parents attending either Spanish session. As they discuss and practice strategies the parents will learn how to encourage preschoolers’ listening, language and speech development. There will be two preschool classrooms (one in English for the bilingual children enrolled in the NEW program described here and one in Spanish for monolingual children.) Please see dates, details and costs in the description of both our Spanish Summer Sessions on JTC’s website and contact pals@jtc.org with any questions or to discuss eligibility.
Study Shows Young Children Should Have Hearing Tested More Frequently
Posted on January 15 2013, 2:52:14 PM | Posted by jtcpals
Lack of hearing screening after newborn period can leave children with undiagnosed hearing deficits
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Media Contact: Ellin Kavanagh Office: (323) 361-8505 E-mail: ekavanagh@chla.usc.edu |
Media Contact: Blythe Maling Office: (213) 748-5481 E-mail: bmaling@jtc.org |
LOS ANGELES (January 15, 2013) Investigators have determined that objective hearing screenings conducted during routine doctor visits are feasible and effective in detecting postnatal hearing loss. The paper published in the January issue of The Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, resulted from a collaboration between the John Tracy Clinic, The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.
Currently, hearing screening is conducted at birth and before a child enters kindergarten leaving a large gap during which hearing loss candevelop and remain undetected. If the initial screening fails to identify a hearing deficit or if hearing loss develops during the infant/toddler years, the child misses a significant period of language and cognitive development as well as sacrificing the opportunity for early intervention.
JTC ParentConnect: Online Classes for Parent Groups Begin Soon
Posted on January 07 2013, 12:07:06 PM | Posted by jtcpals
JTC’s live Internet video series for parent groups is now accepting registrations. JTC is piloting its well-regarded Tuesday Night Parent Classes as sets of seven online classes for small parent groups. ParentConnect will meet online every other week from Feb-May. The classes emphasizing listening, language, and speech are designed for parents of preschool children. It is a wonderful way for parents to learn together and support one another. A group can be as small as five! The classes are each an hour in length, available in English or Spanish and occur in 4-7 pm PT zone. The price per family is $140 for the set of classes with the charges defraying JTC’s costs. Fliers in English and Spanish with dates and topics are available. Parent leaders can contact pals@jtc.org to begin the enrollment process and discuss group payments. The group needs a meeting site with an internet connection, one computer with a wide angle camera, microphone and speakers and a way to project onto a wall, large TV or video screen. Registration must be finalized by Jan 28, 2013. Any parent group wishing for a set of presentations or looking for guest speakers can build their program through JTCParentConnect.