My name is Sheri Cook and I am instructor for the Deaf Studies/American Sign Language Program and the Interpreter Preparation Program at John A. Logan College. I am Deaf and come from a Deaf family. I received my Bachelors degree in Deaf Education at Northern Illinois University and a Masters degree in Applied Linguistics from Southern Illinois University.
In addition to teaching at John A. Logan College, I am a trainer and consultant for the Illinois School for the Deaf Outreach Program. I travel the state training educators, parents and interpreters of school age deaf and hard of hearing children. I have been trained as a trainer in the Deaf Mentorship program. Before moving back to Murphysboro, Illinois, I taught students who are deaf or hard of hearing at the Wisconsin School for the Deaf (WSD) for nearly seven years. At WSD, I taught 4th and 5th grade students with emotional and behavioral disorders. I also taught students in kindergarten, first and second grades.
Before teaching at WSD, I was involved in a residential camp at Southern Illinois University called Touch of Nature where I developed programs for adolescents who were deaf and visually impaired. I have also worked with individuals with head injuries, cerebral palsy, cognitive disabilities and muscular dystrophy. I served three years as a commissioner and Vice Chair on the Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission (2000-2003).
