Silence dominates one classroom in the Jordan School District, and the teacher leading the class won’t have it any other way.

Rae Boren teaches American Sign Language at Copper Hills High School.

“This is my calling,” Boren said.

In 24 years of teaching, some of her students have gone on to become certified ASL interpreters and another teaches the language at Herriman High School.

“I like to say I gave ASL birth to those people,” she said.

Developing students into sign language experts is just part of the lesson learned in this classroom.

Boren wants her students to ask themselves how they can make people around them feel like they belong.

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