Doug Brewer, from left, and Jennifer Sanders, staff members at the Kentucky School for the Deaf, were recognized with the Making a Difference award at the Feb. 4 Kentucky Board of Education meeting for quick actions that helped save the life of a student.

Doug Brewer, from left, and Jennifer Sanders, staff members at the Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD), were recognized with the Making a Difference award at the Feb. 4 Kentucky Board of Education meeting for quick actions that helped save the life of a student. Presenting the award were KSD Principal Toyah Robey, middle, Interim Education Commissioner Kevin C. Brown and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, ex-officio member of the Kentucky Board of Education.
Photo by Marvin Young, Feb. 4, 2020

  • Employees at the Kentucky School for the Deaf not only meet the educational needs of these children, but also serve in the role as parents during the evening.
  • Jennifer Sanders, the child’s dorm parent, received a call about the student and she immediately alerted her supervisor, Doug Brewer.

By Jacob Perkins
Jacob.perkins@education.ky.gov

Doug Brewer and Jennifer Sanders, staff members at the Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD), were recognized with the Making a Difference award at the Feb. 4 Kentucky Board of Education meeting for their heroic efforts in saving the life of a student.

Employees at KSD not only meet the educational needs of these children, but also serve in the role as parents during the evening. This means helping them do homework, asking about how their day went, getting showers, brushing teeth and reading bed time stories.

It also means, knowing each child’s individual habits, likes, dislikes and paying attention to the little things that any parent would know about their child.

That is why when the behavior of one of the student’s seemed different than usual, it was important for staff to react quickly and diligently. Sanders, the child’s dorm parent, called the child’s parent and then alerted her supervisor, Brewer.

“It is this kind of commitment and dedication that we look for and hugely rely on to meet the needs of our students,” KDE Interim Education Commissioner Kevin C. Brown said as he presented the award.

The child was airlifted to the emergency room and is alive and well today thanks to the efforts of Brewer and Sanders, Brown said.