Nancy Grosz Sager
Nancy Grosz Sager grew up in south Sacramento in the ’60s — the daughter of a milkman and secretary. At an early age, she didn’t realize that a college degree was attainable until middle school when her homeroom teacher sparked the flame that would open up her life to new possibilities and new career paths she didn’t know existed.
This fascination led to her majoring in anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she immersed herself in learning about culture and language. During her senior year, she heard from a guest speaker who talked about her profession as a teacher of the deaf. That moment changed Sager.
“I remember thinking, ‘I want to be her’,” Sager said with a laugh. “It really set me on the path to be a teacher of the deaf.”
The following summer of 1973, Sager began taking sign language classes through the local community center and, later, private lessons specifically in American Sign Language through friends in the Deaf community.
“They said they wanted to teach me how deaf people really sign,” Sager said. “At the time, American Sign Language was not really heard of.”
Sager quickly fell in love with deaf culture, which led her to Fresno State to pursue her master’s degree in deaf education. After earning her graduate degree in 1977, she completed the Interpreter Training Program at American River College in 1979.
Sager’s ties to Fresno State are personal and intertwined with her support of The Silent Garden program, which, much like her own lifetime of work, provides support for those who raise, support and train deaf and hard of hearing children and youth. Sager’s generous gift of $250,000 will go toward the Master Gardener Endowment in The Silent Garden to support a full-time director to manage the program.
The Silent Garden in the College of Health and Human Services at Fresno State was created in 2008 to foster opportunity, understanding and awareness for the deaf and hard of hearing community in Central California. The program provides free educational conferences and resources to the community, as well as scholarships for deaf education and interpreting students.
“The Silent Garden is in full bloom, healthy and more meaningful and purposeful than ever, thanks to generous supporters like Nancy,” said Dr. Paul Ogden, founder of The Silent Garden. “Since retiring from the California Department of Education, Nancy has been traveling to workshops and conferences, supporting everyone in the field of deaf education. Parents value her knowledge, her tireless advocacy and her passion for assisting all teachers, families and deaf and hard of hearing children.”
Sager’s professional journey started with the Sutter County Office of Education where she worked for 14 years as a teacher of the deaf in middle school and infant/preschool classrooms. She later worked as a special education program coordinator for Sutter County for seven years before her role as a consultant of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Programs for the California Department of Education.
She oversaw programs that impacted over 17,000 deaf and hard of hearing students in California. From working closely with parents and educators to advocating for legislative laws, Sager’s commitment was palpable.
Among her greatest achievements was working on the Special Education Committee to the Commission on Teaching Credential, where she advocated for a teaching credential for specialized groups, including one specific to the education of deaf and hard of hearing students. Prior to this, the commission had included all of these groups into just one, generic special education category.
Sager was also at the forefront of California’s mandatory newborn screening hearing test, which was written into law. Because of her advocacy, every infant with identified hearing loss must be referred to early start programs and be provided additional resources. This single point-of-entry, in collaboration with the Department of Health Services and Department of Development Services, became a recommendation of the National Joint Committee on Infant Hearing in 2007.
However, Sager is quick to mention among her proudest accomplishments is the work she accomplished alongside parents.
“During all my years in the field of deaf education, including the last few years of retirement, I have been most passionate about working with parents – talking with them, supporting them, befriending them – as they raise deaf and hard of hearing children, including those with additional disabilities,” Sager said. “I have traveled all over the U.S. and met so many amazing parents. I’ve seen that once a parent has a friend or advocate within the field of deaf education, they do so much more for their deaf and hard of hearing children.”
In 2017, Sager was recognized with the Outstanding Alumni Award for the College of Health and Human Services at the annual Fresno State Top Dog Alumni Awards, in recognition for her lifetime of work. Although she’s made a significant impact throughout the U.S., she said the Central Valley will always have her support.
“I’ve attended many colleges during my higher education journey, but I always say ‘I went to Fresno State,’” Sager said. “I just feel such a strong connection to the university and being involved with The Silent Garden provides me a way to further that connection.”
The Silent Garden program will host its annual Scarlett’s Park Conference in The Silent Garden Sept. 20 and21 — a virtual conference focusing on deaf and hard of hearing children with special needs. To register or learn more, visit The Silent Garden website.
