Nikki Davis Eldridge learns twice as many names as the average educator.

As a sign language interpreter at Salem Heights Elementary School, she uses student sign names — a unique identifying sign — alongside their English names. It comes in handy when she’s interpreting for a teacher who’s rapidly calling to students to line up for lunch.

Davis Eldridge is one of five interpreters at the school, Salem’s magnet elementary school for students who are deaf and hard of hearing. About 10 students are part of the program along with other staff trained to work with deaf students.

“I love getting to see their growth, not only in their education but their language,” Davis Eldridge said.

She was among the educators nominated for a Crystal Apple award this year. Educators and families cited her passion for accessibility for the students she works with.

“Nikki challenges students to work hard by gaining the student’s attention and breaking down the class lesson the teacher is instructing in a language that the student can comprehend and access,” colleague Melony Pool wrote.

Davis Eldridge first took an American Sign Language class as a sophomore at South Salem High School and went on to study interpreting at Western Oregon University. She said she loved the language because of its visual nature, and the Deaf culture that went along with it.

She’s spent years involved in Salem’s Deaf community, including volunteering at Oregon School for the Deaf on theater programs and the school’s annual haunted house.

She said there’s a common misconception that deaf students struggle academically or have learning disabilities “which isn’t necessarily true. Language deprivation is a big thing which can cause that and is often misperceived as something else.”

Some come into kindergarten with no prior experience signing, often because their families haven’t learned sign or don’t see it as a language equivalent to spoken English. That can lead to students having little ability to communicate in any language.

“Really they’re having to work twice as hard to pick up one, two languages at the same time they’re learning academics,” Davis Eldridge said. Interpreters help students learn more advanced or specialized signs for topics they cover in class, like space or the American Revolution.

Davis Eldridge spends most of her morning with one student and afternoon with another. She interprets in class so the student can understand the teacher’s lesson, but also follows students to lunch and recess to help interpret as needed. The students she works with range in both their signing experience and auditory processing. Some have cochlear implants and prefer to speak with peers, while others exclusively sign.

Davis Eldridge also interprets school board meetings. She’s intimately familiar with the particulars of each director’s speech patterns — who rambles, who speaks slowly, who likes to repeat points for emphasis.

For her, it’s a chance to use a more complex ASL vocabulary than what’s typically covered in an elementary school classroom.

“It helps keep my skills up,” she said.

As an interpreter, Davis Eldridge said she and her colleagues are often underestimated by people who don’t understand they have professional training and are experts in their field. Their aim is to ensure their students have access to the same education and opportunities as their peers who hear.

“We are big advocates for our students,” she said.

Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.

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