INTO THE MAINSTREAM

Abstract

Chapter 2 examines the Zobrests’ decision-making as they sought opportunities among various school systems available to them for mainstreaming their deaf son, Jim. We follow Jim’s education from the Arizona School for the Deaf and the Blind to the Catalina Foothills public schools in suburban Tucson and analyze the Zobrests’ decision to remove Jim from the public schools and place him in Salpointe Catholic High School. The general attraction of Roman Catholic schools in the cultural and social climate of the 1980s is discussed, as is the expectation that a Catholic high school would offer a deaf-friendly educational and social environment. Jim’s IEPs, his performance in school, and his social situation, as the only deaf student in each educational setting, are analyzed.