Presbyterian Ear Institute
Presbyterian Ear Institute
Presbyterian Ear Institute (PEI) offers hope in breaking the silence for children and adults with hearing loss by providing a comprehensive approach to the early diagnosis, intervention, education, and rehabilitation of deafness.
NM’s largest cochlear implant center and its only early intervention program focused on teaching children with hearing loss to listen and speak, PEI intervenes in the “neurological emergency of childhood hearing loss” (Dimity Dornan) by capitalizing on the 90% of brain development that takes place by age five, mitigating the lifelong effects of hearing loss on literacy, educational achievement, and vocational opportunities.
Through specialized staff, state-wide partnerships, systematic intervention, and research-based curricula and assessment on vocabulary, language comprehension/expression, play, and speech, PEI has changed the lives of more than 200 students and their families.
"The news that my two-year-old was deaf overwhelmed me. ‘He has never heard my voice,’ I thought," said one mother of a recent PEI graduate. "After research and discussion, my husband and I decided on cochlear implants. Our doctor told us they alone were simply tools, useless unless we taught him HOW to use them. That is where PEI Oral School came in. They partnered with us to teach our son how to hear, listen, and speak. We worked hard: talked and read and sang and talked. His teachers worked hard, using their wealth of knowledge and experience. HE WORKED HARD. Slowly, he began to gain more words and understanding. His single words became two- and three-word sentences and complex sentences. It seemed slow at first, but suddenly it was BOOM! He graduated from PEI and is successfully attending mainstream school. He will use his voice and his love to CHANGE THINGS! He wouldn’t have this opportunity had it not been for PEI."
Learn more about Presbyterian Ear Institute
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The Santa Fe Community Foundation invited its Santa Fe Baby Fund grantees to submit stories related to its January topic of Early Childhood.
Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
Last year, the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian opened Carved Stories by Hopi artist Mavasta Honyouti. Featuring all sixteen low-relief carvings from the Coming Home series — created in tandem with Honyouti’s children’s book Coming Home: A Hopi Resistance Story — the exhibit recounts his grandfather Clyde Honyouti’s experience at an off-reservation federal boarding school. This Indigenous-led project offers a powerful and visually compelling reflection on Hopi life, culture, and history. As Brian Vallo notes, “Carved Stories… is both powerful and beautiful.”
Kha'p'o Community School
With support from the Native American Advised Fund, sixth-grade students at Kha’p’o Community School embarked on Our Voice, Our Stories — a year-long documentary project blending traditional Tewa arts and modern digital storytelling. Through pottery, weaving, sewing, and film, students explored their cultural identity and celebrated their voices as young Tewa people.
Truchas Services Center Preschool
The Truchas Services Center Preschool serves children from all the surrounding communities, providing supervision and appropriate curriculum for children ages 3 to 5 years old. The mission of the Pre-School program is "Children learning through playing".
