I’M RUNNING THE 2023 NYC MARATHON FOR
P.S. 347, THE ASL & ENGLISH LOWER SCHOOL!
TCS NYC Marathon Logo- Statue of Liberty graphic in rainbow colors, in a circle of letters spelling out the group's name

P.S. 347 is an official charity partner for the TCS NYC 2023 Marathon.
I’m raising $2,950 for the school. Please help me meet my goal!

JASON SCHOOFF

Dad

Hello! My name is Jayson Schooff. I am excited to run the NYC marathon representing PS 347 – The American Sign Language & English lower School.

My wife and I live here in the city and were pregnant with our first baby :) We found out early on in our pregnancy that our baby boy will be born with Usher Syndrome 2A (USH2A). He will be born D/HoH and later in his adolescence, he will start to lose his vision and can lead to full blindness.

Our latest news is that our baby boy decided to join us early! On March 17th, 2023 – Jude was born 9 weeks early. We are so in love with him. In the last couple of months, we have fallen in love with the D/HoH and Blind communities. We’ve been learning ASL, talking with others within the community and learning about the daily life for D/HoH individuals.

Jason and his wife stand beside a chalkboard with their baby in a car seat on the floor. They are in the NICU and the sign has information about his name and birth date, size, etc.

Sadly, I have already seen difficulties in obtaining resources for the deaf/blind community. This why I’m so passionate about raising funds and spread awareness in my local community. Learning and working with PS 347 – New York City’s School of American Sign Language – is humbling. They do so much for kids, just like mine, to give them every resource that we often take for granted.

Anything helps! Whether it’s donating to PS 347 or learning basic signs to communicate, it goes a long way.

Jayson, a white man with dark brown hair and beard, is outside on a NYC street holding his newborn baby, Jude, in a car seat.

The PS347 mission is to provide a bilingual education that values American Sign Language and Deaf culture and to help bridge the Deaf and hearing communities in New York City. 

P.S. 347, The American Sign Language & English Lower School, is a PreK-to-8 public school in NYC serving d/Deaf, hard-of-hearing (D/HOH), CODA (children of deaf adults), and hearing students. We are a non-zoned mainstream school centrally located in Manhattan.

Our families come from all over NYC to be a part of this special place - a place where hearing differences are the norm, and everyone feels like they truly belong. We are on a quest to become the most inclusive school for the Deaf community, and strive to create a new generation of hearing allies and advocates. 

P.S. 347 is able to do all we do thanks solely to the resourcefulness and dedication of our staff, parents, and our community. We work hard for every penny we raise, and we rely on grants and the generosity of those who are able to contribute. Thank you for your support!

Two white hands signing ILY in ASL. One is a child and one is an adult.

P.S. 347 gives its students strong academic support and many amazing opportunities, from garden residencies to theater collaborations. But these don’t come easy. While many other public schools in our district are able to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, the P.S. 347 community cannot. The unfortunate reality is that the majority of our families live in poverty. Many of our students experience daily food insecurity and live in the shelter system. Thus our school does more than just provide an education; we help fulfill basic needs so that these children can simply make it to school everyday.