Levittown Music Students Signing, ‘Connecting’ Safely In COVID-19

LEVITTOWN, NY — A Levittown music teacher has introduced students to American Sign Language as a way to allow students to connect and learn in a positive way, while still following COVID-19 safety protocols, Levittown School District officials said.

Lee Road music teacher Helen Papayannakos said she introduced sign language into her music classrooms to adhere to safety protocols, while still giving students “a new and exciting way to experience music,” and it has quickly expanded in the school community, with students fully “embracing what they have learned,” according to a news release from the school district.

“I originally started this unit to make music with my students in a way that followed [Centers For Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines and ensured the safety of everyone in the class,” Papayannakos stated. “However, the goal has become to be more inclusive of people who may be a little bit different from us.”

Papayannakos said she always wanted to learn sign language and found that the best way to learn was through teaching others, and following every lesson, she used a song to wrap up and review what classes had learned that day, school officials said.

Within a few short weeks, the students were picking up on their signs faster than anticipated and lessons became more involved, school district officials said, adding, that what started as a lesson on the sign language alphabet, “quickly became lessons about animals, colors, greetings, numbers, school signs, the pledge and even improvised conversations with one another.”

The students also enjoyed practicing their sign language skills with one of the school’s lunch monitors who is part of the “hard of hearing community,” school district officials said.

Lee Road students quickly began to take their “newfound love” for sign language and bring it into their own homes — sharing the songs and signs that they learned in Papayannakos’ class with family members, school district officials said.

Papayannakos said that “parents reached out with emails asking for extra lessons or videos that their child could watch at home, because they were so interested.”

“And so many parents have approached me at dismissal to thank me for teaching this [sign language] unit and shared with me the stories of how their child has used it outside of my classroom,” she added.

The students showed off their sign language skills through a school-wide music video at the conclusion of the study unit, according to school district officials.

“Incorporating sign language into the music curriculum allowed Papayannakos to bring the joy of music into the school, while embracing a new language that connects students and staff during this unique school year,” district officials stated in the release.