Staff

Faculty Bios

Candace L. Apple

Jaqueline Crandall
Lori David

Tanya Wyatt-Dennis

Sandra Goulart
Gayle Harden
Earnestine Henderson
Cynthia Makielski

The Staff at DDSD

Candace L. Apple, Principal

Candace L. Apple grew up in Detroit and attended Detroit Public Schools.
She sometimes would teach her friends, who were not good spellers, the manual alphabet, tactually they became better spellers. Of course she did not know what it was called at the time; she just knew it helped them to spell better. So, it became a natural decision to become a teacher. Not just any teacher, but a teacher of the deaf.

Receiving a scholarship to attend the University of Michigan-Flint, her course of study was Deaf Education. Some of the courses were held at the Michigan School for the Deaf, MSD, and were taught by staff members. Taking part in a special job opportunity presented by the state, she worked there tutoring students while attending school. Candace learned both oral and total communication method of educating the deaf child. The focus there was on written language structure, and the Fitzgerald Key was the way to learn.

Upon graduating from U of M-Flint, with a BA in Deaf Education, she continued working at MSD teaching grades 2nd - 10th. She also had one of the first Autistic/Deaf students in the state. Although back then, it was not a recognizable disability.

Moving back to Detroit, she was assigned to teach at a middle school. Her class consisted of 6 deaf total communication students, who upon entering her class were reading at a 1.5 - 2.0 grade point level. Incorporating all the lessons learned at U of M-Flint and MSD and applying them to her students, they succeed. She told them, "your only disability is your deafness. Their brain still works . . . so use it" and they did. Upon being promoted to high school their grade point levels jumped to scores 3.0 - 7.6. They entered writing contests and "spelling bees". They helped to educate their hearing peers about deafness. In conjunction to her full time job teaching, she attended Eastern Michigan University and received her first Masters degree in Learning Disabilities.

Candace transferred and taught at the Detroit Day School for the Deaf and at that time the school was an oral school. She had a difficult time adjusting to "no signing". So, she became a Teacher Consultant for the Hard of Hearing for the next 22 years.

She left Detroit and became a Supervisor of Special Education in Milwaukee for a few years. There she received her second MA in Education Administration and Supervisor/Director of Special Education. She returned to Detroit and resumed her job as a Teacher Consultant.
Then she became Supervisor of the Programs for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. And now she has come full circle. As the Principal of the Detroit Day School for the Deaf, she can focus imparting education to the children there because: "Children are only limited by the information given to them".

Lori David
Lori David has been a teacher of Deaf and Hard of Hearing students in Detroit Public Schools for 31 years.   She graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Deaf Education and from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, with a Master of Arts degree in Learning Disabilities.   She is currently the middle school math teacher at Detroit Day School for the Deaf.

In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Mrs. David coordinates all of the academic testing at D.D.S.D. throughout the school year and acts as a mentor for new teachers.

For 8 years, Mrs. David was in charge of the transition program for D.D.S.D. students at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Detroit, Michigan.   She worked with middle school students from D.D.S.D., ages 13 and older on transitioning from a school setting to a work environment.  Working with other D.D.S.D. school staff, Ms. David helped to create the VA Hospital program for D.D.S.D. students.  This program now services deaf and hard of hearing students throughout the Detroit Public School system.

She has also offered her time after school to work in a government funded program called “Healthy Choices”,   sponsored by the Michigan Association for Deaf and Hard of Hearing.  She works with children ages 8 and up, educating them about the harmful effects of drugs, alcohol and violence.  She has been involved in this program for 5 years.

After receiving specialized training at Gallaudet University, Mrs. David added “Shared Reading Project (SRP) Site Coordinator” to her many and varied responsibilities.  The innovative program is based on extensive research that determined deaf children of deaf parents acquire language and literacy at a faster rate than deaf children of hearing parents.  It is designed to teach parents how to read to their deaf children. Mrs. David’s duties include recruiting trained tutors to go into the homes of families with deaf children and teach the techniques of shared reading.   She also gathers feedback and other data on the program’s success and future needs.

Tanya Wyatt-Dennis

Tanya is a native Detroiter.  She attended the Detroit Day School for the Deaf.  In 1983, she attended Murray Wright High School and graduated in 1987.  Tanya enrolled at Madonna University in 1987 where she majored in Social Work and received her Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) in 1992.  She began graduate studies at Wayne State University in 1995 and graduated with a Masters in Social Work in 1996.  Tanya is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) and a Certified Trauma School Specialist.  As a social worker for Detroit Public Schools, she provides therapeutic counseling to deaf and hard of hearing students between preschool and 26 years of age.

Tanya facilitates parent and peer support groups and provides crisis intervention for students.   She became a hospice medical social worker when a friend recommended she work with the patients who were deaf and hard of hearing at the Orchard Lake Nursing Home.  Tanya, who has been working at the Cranbrook Hospice Care for the past eight years, would see the patients at their homes, in the hospital, and at the nursing home facilities.  As a hospice social worker, Tanya completes psychosocial assessments, counsels, and explains services and concept philosophies to the terminally ill patients and their families; completes admission processing for patientst; educates patients about the disease, death and dying, grief and loss, and facilitates family meetings for the purpose of problem solving, and acquiring the necessary resources for the patient.

Jacqueline Crandall
Ms. Crandall is deaf and has been teaching at DDSD 10 years.  She has a Master’s degree in Deaf Education from Michigan State University and a second Master’s degree in Educational Administration from Madonna University.  She is certified by the State of Michigan to teach Hearing Impaired grades K-12 (all subjects), Language Arts grades 7-12, and Social Studies grades 7-12.  She had three majors in college: Journalism, History, and Spanish.  She is also certified by Gallaudet University to teach GLOBE Environmental Science.  Before coming to DDSD, Ms. Crandall taught at Wilde Elementary in the Macomb County Hearing Impaired program and was a substitute teacher in both the Oakland County and the Macomb County Hearing Impaired programs. 

While at Michigan State, Ms. Crandall helped the late David Stewart pioneer one of the first sign language multi-media software programs for learning sign language.  She has attended several of the National Deaf Academy’s conferences for professionals working with deaf children with additional special needs in addition to taking several graduate level courses with titles such as:  “Developing Early Literacy,” “Curriculum and Assessment,” and “Data-Driven Decision Making.”  Other professional development courses and workshops are too numerous to list here.

Outside of DDSD, Ms. Crandall has served on several community boards of directors and was a volunteer probation officer in the 33rd District Court.  Before going back to work as a teacher, she had her own sewing shop.  In addition, she has successfully raised three children of her own – two of whom are now teachers themselves.

Sandra Goulart

Sandra Goulart was born deaf due to German measles.  She grew up in Strathroy, Ontario.  Ms. Goulart attended the Robarts School for the Deaf in London, Ontario, Canada from 1974 until she graduated in 1985.  She studied business at Madonna University and graduated with an Associates Degree in 1989 and a Bachelor of Science degree in 1992.

Ms. Goulart has worked at Detroit Day School for the Deaf since 2000.  She currently works as a deaf/blind intervenor.  She is a member of the American Association for Deaf and Blind (AADB).  Ms. Goulart is working towards certification as a deaf interpreter – CDI.  She enjoys working with deaf and deaf/blind students.  She also likes working with computers.  

Gayle Harden
My name is Gayle Harden and I am an employee at Detroit Day School for the Deaf.  I am hearing-impaired and have been since age 5.  I enrolled in Liberty Elementary School in Highland Park, and later attended Detroit Day School for the Deaf in 1974-1975.  Afterwards, I was mainstreamed in regular classes throughout middle school and high school.  I have been a paraprofessional at D.D.S.D. for 20 years, and have experience working with children from Pre-K thru the 8th grade.  My experience working with the students over this period of time has enriched me with understanding, because each hearing-impaired student is different in their own way, in terms of ability in their education.  I’ve come to recognize the students’ sense of belonging and/or comfort in the appropriate setting of interaction among their like peers.  

Earnestine Henderson
Earnestine Henderson was born in Tchula, Mississippi on a farm in the heart of the delta.  She was born with a hearing loss that was discovered at an early age by an aunt.  Ms. Henderson was raised by a single mother and grew up with four brothers and three sisters, all of whom were normal hearing.  Most of her early life was spent in rural towns in farming communities.

Unaware of the availability of schools for the deaf, Ms. Henderson attended a regular public school in Mississippi, from elementary grades until graduation from high school in 1967, at which time she became proficient in lip-reading and managed to work her way through socialization with friends in a hearing environment.

After graduation from high school, Ms. Henderson applied to and was accepted at Coahoma Junior College in Clarksdale, Mississippi where she successfully obtained her first college degree - an Associate of Arts degree in Social Science in 1969.  Ms. Henderson was the first hearing impaired student to ever attend and graduate from this college.  Upon graduation, she was accepted at Gallaudet College (which later became Gallaudet University) and graduated with a BA in Sociology, with a minor in Social Work in 1975.

Meantime, while pursuing a Master’s degree in Social Work at the University of Maryland - Baltimore campus – Ms. Henderson was employed at St. Elizabeth Hospital’s Mental Health Program for the Deaf as a mental health worker/social services representative for approximately four years until graduating from University of Maryland in 1984.

Since moving to Michigan in 1985, Ms. Henderson has worked as a Social Worker in both in-patient/out-patient psychiatric treatment settings for a variety of mental health agencies in Detroit for a number of years.  In addition, she also worked as a school social worker at Michigan School for the Deaf for approximately four years. 

After retiring as a social worker, Ms. Henderson decided to pursue a teaching career, obtaining a Masters in Special Education degree from Grand Canyon University.

Cynthia Makielski MA, CCC-SLP, Speech Language Pathologist

My name is Cynthia Makielski. I am a Speech-Language Pathologist.

I have provided speech therapy to the students at DDSD since the Fall of 2001 and to other schools in the district that have HI classrooms. Therapy primarily includes: auditory training, speech reading, articulation therapy, language/vocabulary development and reading/writing skills. Most therapy is on a one to one pull-out format whenever possible, but sometimes I go into the classroom and help the children with their tasks while addressing their goals.

I always enjoy working with the kids with hearing and language differences. It is a challenge to me to find their inner strengths and bring about their best capabilities.  My goal is always to help them achieve their best communication skills and motivate them to want to learn. As well, I love what they teach me.  I continually strive to improve my sign language and understand their culture. 

My first school setting working for DPS began in l998 at a center based school for students with severe multiple disabilities.  I also worked for a year at Michigan School for the Deaf in Flint.  Prior to the school setting, I worked in different settings such as hospitals, rehab centers and clinics. Fourteen Wayne State Graduate students have completed part of their internship training under my supervision at DDSD.

I have a variety of interests that I bring to the children in my therapy…including animals, sports and travel…I love to draw and do lots of arts and crafts….I prefer hands on activities so that the kids get multi-dimensional input to their therapy activities.

My education is diverse. I have several degrees.  I have a degree in Mental Health, Veterinary Medical Technology and my Masters in Speech Pathology-Special Education.

I passed the Michigan Teacher Certification Test while in graduate school. I am a professional member of the American Speech and Language Association. I am also a member if Michigan Deaf Association and Deaf C.A.N.  My clinical interests are very much focused on Deaf education and therapy.  I continually take courses in sign language; I am never done learning and improving my skills. 

I have only have one thing to say to parents/caregivers and that is…embrace your children for who they are, not who you want them to be…have high expectations, but be flexible and patient.  Learning two languages at the same time takes a lot of time and is frustrating, but you can help make it fun and achieve their full potential.

Allow and encourage your child to be part of the culture they were born into and help them be proud of who they are.