Students sign along with Arby Jean Wolkov as they watch, first as she speaks the words — reminding them to emphasize “non-manual markers” such as the shape and emphasis her mouth makes — and then in complete silence.
Organized, dynamic and energetic, Wolkov’s passion for American Sign Language (ASL) is palpable as she instructs her students from the platform in the front of her classroom at William Howard Taft Charter High School in Woodland Hills. In a recent ASL 2 afternoon class, she reviewed vocabulary such as signs for “congratulations,” “promotion” and “boss.”
Last month , Wolkov ’09 (Deaf Studies), M.A. ’13 (Special Education, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education) was honored in Sacramento as a 2025 California Teacher of the Year. She’s the first ASL teacher to earn this state accolade, according to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.
Credentialed, experienced ASL teachers are scarce in K-12, even as demand for ASL instruction grows among Gen Z and Gen Alpha students — generations passionate about inclusion and accessibility.
“My principal calls us unicorns,” Wolkov said of ASL teachers, a relatively new field in K-12. She teaches ASL 1, 2 and Honors 3 (with demand growing, she expects to add Honors 4 next school year), as well as a leadership class for seniors — and she chairs Taft’s World Languages Department.
With statewide recognition, “it showcases ASL, and hopefully more schools will start ASL programs, more people will want to learn ASL and it will build our community,” Wolkov said. “That’s what I’m hoping. Showcasing a marginalized group is really important to me.
“[The award] highlights my subject, and it highlights a group of people that aren’t often highlighted or maybe a little bit misunderstood,” she said. “I’m able to represent them as a hard of hearing person myself — I have hearing loss, and I have hearing aids. I speak, but I also sign. It’s good to have somebody who knows and has the experience, to be able to give a voice to those who want their stories told but never had the opportunity to share.”
Role Models and Inspiration
She’s been at Taft since 2018. Previously, she taught at Burbank High School, her alma mater and first teaching job.
“I moved to Taft because they have a really big Deaf community and big ASL program,” Wolkov said, noting the benefits: ASL students have the opportunity to use the language they’re learning with native ASL users, and bond with the Deaf community. “This part of LAUSD, the North region, used to have a lot of Deaf and hard of hearing programs, because of its proximity to CSUN — because of Deaf studies and NCOD: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services.”
Over time and with reduced funding, those programs dwindled and Taft became the designated high school for Deaf and hard of hearing programs within the region, she said. Wolkov (nee Tacub) grew up in Burbank, which boasts a sizable Deaf community and myriad resources, thanks to the TRIPOD Model School Program.
“I’m hard of hearing and I have deaf family and friends, so I started learning sign language at a really young age,” Wolkov said. Her drive to teach, she said, also started early — forged in adversity and a sense of being an outsider, of not belonging.
“When I was younger, school was really difficult,” Wolkov said. “I was born here, but I lived in the Philippines for a while as a child. When we decided to come back to America when I was starting pre-K, kindergarten, I only knew Tagalog and I was just thrown into school. It was really hard, and it was a time of full immersion to learn English. You had to sink or swim. Thank goodness, I swam, but I remember really struggling. It wasn’t until 2nd grade that I had a teacher, Ms. Swanson, at George Washington Elementary School, who was really patient with me and made me feel smart, made me feel like I could do it.”
Years later, at Burbank High School, inspiration struck again in Michele Brown’s and Denise Osgood’s ASL classes, Wolkov said. “I knew I wanted to be a teacher, but not sure what subject or age group. I loved Mrs. Osgood’s ASL 2 and 3 classes and what she did. That’s when I knew I wanted to incorporate signing somehow in my future career.”
Osgood is hearing and a CSUN alum who majored in Deaf studies. She advised Wolkov, “‘If you really want to do something with ASL, think about teaching it,’” Wolkov recalled.
Osgood encouraged her to attend CSUN and join Alpha Sigma Theta, a sorority for students who are deaf and hard of hearing (hearing women can join, but all members must be comfortable communicating in ASL). “It definitely helped me. I had a friend — one! — at CSUN from Burbank High School, and we were both majoring in Deaf studies,” Wolkov said. “We wanted to broaden our horizons and meet new people, so I pledged Alpha Sigma Theta that first semester of my freshman year, and I dove right in. I made new friends, and it helped with my ASL skills as well. There were more people to sign with, and it was a really good time to hone my skills. It made a big university feel a little smaller and more manageable — to have a group of people there to support me.”
‘Making Sure We’re Aware of the Whole Child’
Wolkov completed her bachelor’s and a teaching credential in Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) education. As she worked toward a master’s degree, Wolkov got a call from Osgood, who asked her to sub for her Burbank High class during the teacher’s upcoming family leave.
“The opportunity just fell into my lap,” Wolkov said. She thought the teaching job would last just a year, but when Osgood decided not to return, Wolkov stayed on for another — and then completed a second credential, a Single Subject Credential in ASL, from CSUN.
“When I decided to work toward my Education Specialist Credential to teach Deaf and hard of hearing elementary-aged children, I didn’t think I had what it took to teach ASL at the high school level,” she said. “That year of subbing really opened my eyes, and I fell in love with teaching ASL. It’s been so fun! Though going back to school and earning a second credential was a lot of work, it was worth it.”
Thirteen years later, “I still love teaching,” Wolkov said. “I do it for the kids — they need their Ms. Swanson. Nowadays, a lot of teaching is about social-emotional learning, making sure that we are aware of the whole child. They’re not just a student. They have other things going on — they’re an athlete, they work, they have to take care of their siblings. How’s their mental health, how are they overall? That’s a really important job. Yes, that’s another thing to put on a teacher’s plate, but it helps our job to know them. Especially after COVID.”
You can tell a lot about a teacher’s vibe and personality from their bulletin-board decorations and personal touches around the room. Wolkov’s classroom sports tributes to Taylor Swift (on her T-shirt this day: “It’s Me. Hi, I’m the Teacher it’s Me”) and a shrine to pro sports teams such as the Angels, L.A. Sparks, and Las Vegas Golden Knights.
Many high schools don’t offer ASL. But it’s a crucial language, especially in greater Los Angeles — with its large Deaf community, she noted.
“I felt, when I was younger, like an outsider. I wasn’t really good at English and felt kind of on the outs,” Wolkov said. “So, I connected with some of the deaf students, because they also felt like they were on the outs. We became friends and bonded, and I liked that. I liked how ASL could bring people together. Those friends I met in elementary school are still my friends. I wouldn’t have had that if I didn’t have ASL. Same with my sorority sisters at CSUN. That’s one thing I really like about ASL — it bridges the gaps and really connects people. Especially in such a diverse place like California.”
A number of Wolkov’s former students have gone on to major in Deaf studies at CSUN, specializing in the Michael D. Eisner College of Education’s rigorous Interpreter Education Program. She also has former students who have become colleagues, after they earned an Education Specialist Credential to teach DHH in K-12.
“They found something they really loved, through ASL. That’s another joy in teaching, seeing students succeed and use whatever they learned from me, out in the real world,” she said.
A Taft parent first nominated Wolkov for LAUSD Teacher of the Year. Over the course of 2023-24, she subsequently was honored by Los Angeles County and then the state Department of Education. Of 330,000 teachers in California, Wolkov is one of just five selected for 2025 Teacher of the Year.
For student teachers or those just getting started, she had some words of wisdom:
“You’re going to hear a lot of people talking down about the profession, having opinions about teaching,” Wolkov said. “But if you really want to be a teacher, know that there is a community of really motivated teachers who want to be there to support you. Teaching is collective. We have to work together and collaborate, to do it for the kids. There are colleagues who will support you. If you want to do it, you can do it. Don’t give up. We need more teachers!”
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