Learn the basics of American Sign Language (ASL). This course is designed for students who have little or no previous knowledge of ASL. Students will learn the ASL manual alphabet and simple sentence structures. This course has been approved by Durham Public Schools for license renewal credit. Textbook may be required. 20 hours. 2.0 TRCs.

Continue to build on your skills from Beginning American Sign Language. The focus is on refining the use of basic ASL sentences. Students learn routine communicative functions of the language. Information about the deaf community is included. This course has been approved by Durham Public Schools for license renewal credit. Textbook may be required. Prerequisite: American Sign Language I, Beginning or permission of the program coordinator. 20 hours. 2.0 TRCs.

This course provides an overview of the grant writing process, including grants versus contracts; the role of educational, governmental, and non-profit organizations in the grant process; information on available grant organizations; and use of the Internet in the grant process. Learn the grant process from initial identification of grant organizations to the request for solicitations and applications, application requirements, negotiated awards, grant administration, and finally to grant close out. After the overview, each student pursues a grant opportunity following the process utilized in class and is able to submit a grant application tailored toward the student’s personal or professional goals. Familiarity with the Internet is recommended. 24 hours.

Get the “jitters” when speaking in front of a group? This class is designed to familiarize you with a wide variety of business and daily-life situations. Learn to organize effectively, create speaking outlines, challenge nervousness, and communicate a message to your audience appropriately. Develop the confidence to deliver polished presentations anywhere! 36 hours.

Become a confident and effective public speaker! Public speaking ranges from transmitting basic information, to motivating people to take action, to simply telling an entertaining story. Strong public speakers use their skills in their profession, in community activities, and in many other ways. This course helps you get over the jitters and become a polished speaker who enjoys stepping up to the podium. 36 hours.

Learn to integrate basic written English concepts with the demands of today’s work environment. Develop and strengthen writing skills required to communicate in today’s workforce using documents such as reports, newsletters, procedure manuals, proposals, résumés, and other forms of business communications. Emphasis is on developing the student’s writing style, organizing information, and producing professional documents. In addition, students are also evaluated on principles of writing, editing, and critiquing formal and informal documents. 36 hours.