American Sign Language (ASL) teacher Sharon Weisman is retiring after 25 years of impactful teaching at BHS.

“I’ve had Mrs.Weisman since my freshman year and I’m now in ASL 3,” junior London Travis said. “It’s been an incredible experience to learn about ASL and deaf culture.”

Travis is  Weisman’s teaching assistant.

She enjoyed going on field trips with Weisman’s class.

“One of my favorite memories was our field trip to Cleveland Hearing and Speech,” she said. 

“We used funds from the ASL club to donate gifts for a holiday shopping day for the deaf community in Cleveland,” she added. “We had a lot of fun.” 

In addition to having ASL classes, Weisman also ran the ASL club, the goal of which has been to make connections between students and the deaf community in the Cleveland area. 

One of the most memorable parts of her career was the Holiday Party that the ASL club helped run.

“There have been so many highlights, one has to be the holiday that we ran for 15 years,” Weisman said. “It showed a great example of integrated learning between students and the deaf community.”

Weisman pioneered the ASL curriculum here at Beachwood.

“I started as a deaf teacher when I first got to Beachwood and eventually started the ASL foreign language program,” she said.

Weisman explained why she is retiring now.

“It’s my time to go, I want to leave while I am still on top,” she said. “I am certainly not leaving because of the students. I will really miss spending time with all my students.”  

Weisman is particularly good at developing strong relationships with students.

“I want my students to know how much they have given me,” she said. “I have learned so much about them and from them.”

Weisman’s students have not just learned the language from her, but have learned values of compassion as well.

“I think I speak for every student in ASL when saying that Mrs. Weisman will be deeply missed,” Travis said. “She is an incredible teacher not only because everyone has learned  so much but also because it’s very clear that she strives to make everyone feel accepted in her classroom.”