Our group matriarch is the late Sharon Svette. She was an intervention specialist at Elyria High School before her retirement concert as seen in the picture above. Upon seeing her former students in the audience, she simply thought we were there for support.  She did not know, however, that both her current and former students, along with her son, Cory,  planned to surprise her by performing TOGETHER on stage for her, one last time. Sadly, Mrs. Svette would pass away shortly after this concert, and it was hard on all of us. Her memory and legacy live on through Svette Signers, as her son did not want the group to disappear with all of the work his mom and everyone else put into it, and all of the memories we share. 

But why/how was this group formed? Well, while working as an intervention specialist, Mrs. Sharon Svette would have a child enrolled into her middle school class that was completely deaf. She took it upon herself to learn ASL on her own, to communicate with, and make this student feel just as welcome as any other in her room. Word of her learning the language spread throughout the school and other students wanted to learn as well. 

Despite critique from other staff members that including students without disabilities in her lessons was a bad idea, Mrs. Svette formed a group that came to be known as the Westwood Signers, and this group learned PSE, (hearing person's ASL), through song and theater, that eventually lead to performing shows in the community. Through the years the group has grown and changed names from Westwood Signers, to Elyria High Accelerated Signers, to the Beck Center Signers, and eventually became so large after Mrs. Svette's passing that the group  was split into two, one of these being Svette Signers.

Mrs. Svette welcomed anyone of any race, any religion, any orientation, and any ability into her family, with open arms, and we strive to keep her and that legacy alive in this group.

RIP Mrs. Sharon Svette. We hope to make you proud.