DOWNEY — A team of students from Sussman Middle School competed in the playoffs of the Battle of the Books last Thursday.

Sponsored by Gallaudet University, the Battle of the Books is a competition established to promote literacy among Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) middle school students, promote a spirit of academic competition and good sportsmanship, and encourage critical thinking skills among middle school students.

Coached by teacher Esther Han, these Sussman Middle School DHH students started this year’s Battle of the Books preliminary competition in November where they competed against 30 other middle school teams from across the nation.

Placing in the top eight, this Sussman team advanced to the playoffs which consisted of an hour and a half competition judged by members of Gallaudet University.  The Sussman team did not advance to the national competition, but they will continue to pursue their goal of competing in the nationals by participating in next year’s Battle of the Books.

“I want to first congratulate each and every player from each school for all of their hard work! No matter what happens, they should be very proud of themselves for advancing to the playoffs,” expressed Han. “It was truly a great pleasure for me to watch each team strive to do their best, and I loved the teamwork, critical thinking skills and sportsmanship that was witnessed during the playoff matches.”

In the competition, students read required books in advance and then face off against other three-member teams to respond to literature questions as well as present answers to critical questions about the various books’ texts. This is the seventh year Sussman Middle School’s DHH students participated in the Battle of the Books along with Coach Han. 

Also assisting with the competition is Sussman Middle School teacher Brian St. Clair and interpreters, Lisa Chapman and Educardo Huante.

“Esther and Brian have devoted their time to help the students with vocabulary and reading comprehension,” continued Han. “Without them, it would not have been possible to get this far.”

Sussman Middle School’s DHH program has been competing in the Battle of the Books since 2012. The inaugural year, the Sussman team earned fourth place at the national competition and was recognized at Gallaudet University during the awards ceremony. 

This 2012 team was led by coach David Ferrer, and assistant coaches, Esther Han and Koreen Husted. During that ceremony, one of their eighth-grade students recognized as an All-Star player.  Since making it to the nationals in 2012, Sussman’s team has competed at the preliminary level, unable to advance to the playoffs. 

This is the second time since Sussman Middle School started participating in this literacy competition, that their student team was able to advance past the preliminary round and make it to the playoffs.