"He makes it look easy," said Francine Fecteau, who has worked with Tracy since he was a pre-schooler. "He makes being hard-of-hearing look easy."

About a year ago, Fecteau nominated Tracy for the "Kids with Character" award from the Clarke School’s Mainstream Center. The Clarke School is a school in Massachusetts for students who are deaf and hearing-impaired.

"The staff of the Mainstream Center is proud to present you with the second annual Kids with Character award for the character traits mentioned in your citation," said a letter written by center staff member Melissa Griswold to Tracy. "You are example of what can be accomplished with hard work, determination and a positive attitude."

Tracy, 16, was selected for the award earlier this year.

Fecteau is a teacher of the deaf and hearing-impaired with the Otsego Northern Catskills Board of Cooperative Educational Services.

"I thought he should be recognized," Fecteau said Tuesday.

Teachers and others who work with the students had to write about why the student deserved the award. There were several traits nominators could choose, or they could talk about the student’s "overall excellence."

Fecteau went for that option. Tracy has "overall excellence," Fecteau said.

"He’s not perfect at everything," Fecteau said. "They don’t have to be all-stars."

Tracy is one of two hearing-impaired students at Morris Central School. He is a baseball and basketball player. He’s been mainstreamed since he entered school. Tracy reads lips and was taught sign language before going to school.

"I don’t feel any different than anyone else," Tracy said.

"People here like him. Everybody knows him here," Fecteau said. "He’s a piece of the furniture at school."

Fecteau said the other student hearing-impaired student at Morris is a sixth-grader.

Students have different levels of progress, and Fecteau tailors what she does with them to their needs and abilities.

Tracy’s favorite _ and best _ subjects are history and English, so Fecteau helps him with science and other areas.

Fecteau said her job is to "facilitate" what Tracy can do in school.

"She’s easy to work with," Tracy said.

Tuesday, for example, Fecteau was helping Tracy troubleshoot a problem with his digital hearing aids, and the two were working on "calisthenics for the brain." The brain exercises work with words and word games.

Tracy’s abilities make it easier to do some tasks, Fecteau said.

"You can use words to explain words," she said. "You have to have students who are good with language to be able to do that."

Tracy is already making plans for what he’d like to do after leaving Morris. He plans to go to college and eventually become a sports writer.

http://www.thedailystar.com/news/stories/2006/11/15/aa1114deaf2.html