April 6 - A Vision for Regional Programs in KY

Those who know me are aware of my mission: to see the establishment of regional programs for the deaf and hard of hearing throughout Kentucky. This is not my idea; there have been several reports written over the past few decades that recommend the creation of such programs.

Yet, in 2015, only one such program exists in Kentucky. There was a second one in my town, but that no longer is considered a regional program.

Why do I advocate for such programs across Kentucky? I have blogged about this previously, but it comes down to a few main factors:

1. There are numerous school districts in Kentucky that have DHH students but no DHH teacher and/or interpreter to serve those students. There is a serious shortage of DHH teachers and interpreters in Kentucky
2. Many districts only have one or two DHH students in the entire district. This makes it extremely difficult to provide opportunities for that student to interact with other DHH students and DHH adults. This interaction is crucial for their language, social, emotional, and psychological development and well-being
3. Those districts that have several DHH students tend to allow them to attend their neighborhood school despite legal decisions that permit clustering of students. This separation increases the financial burden of a school district. 
• When I was in the classroom, I once did a cost analysis comparing the costs of having each of my students transported to my school where the interpreter, aide, and myself all worked with the students. I compared this to the cost if each student went to their neighborhood school where a sign language interpreter would need to be hired for each student, plus there would be travel expenses for me traveling to serve each student. The difference was astonishing!
4. DHH students have the right to be educated with their peers, other DHH children! 
5. They have the right to free exchange of information in their primary language whether with peers or adults. 
6. They have the right to be educated by highly qualified certified teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing.
7. They have the right to know they are not alone in this world. All DHH children, regardless of hearing loss, communication mode, or need for special education services deserve to know that there are other kids like themselves out there!

Now is the time to dust off those reports written 15 - 20 years ago but are still valid today and to take action.

Regionalized programs are able to provide the full continuum of services required under IDEA, with the exception of attending the school for the Deaf. I contend that these programs should be extensions of the Kentucky School for the Deaf since it is overseen by the Kentucky Department of Education. This will ensure consistency in the services offered at each regional program.

Here is how the continuum could be offered at a regional program. Note that I have turned the LRE upside down as per yesterday's post.

• Full-time special education
• Most of the day with DHH peers in a self contained classroom
• All content in DHH classroom, attending special area classes (PE, music etc) with the DHH class and no general education students
•  Interact with hearing peers during lunch and recess

• Part-time special education, part-time general education
• Most of the day with DHH peers in a self contained classroom
• Homeroom is the DHH self contained classroom
• All content in DHH classroom with mainstreaming to special area classes (PE, music, library), lunch and recess with a general education class, or
• Most content in DHH classroom with mainstreaming into general education classes for 1 or 2 content areas in which they are in the average range and have the language foundation to access information through an interpreter

• Part-time general education, part-time special education
• Most of the day with hearing peers or without Supplementary Aides and Services(SAS) (FM system, interpreter)
• Homeroom is a general education classroom
• Part time in DHH resource/self contained classroom for Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) in content areas and/or language, listening, or
• Part time in resource classroom (special ed) for SDI in content areas and/or language, listening, or
• Weekly to daily support from itinerant teacher for SDI (times vary from 15 minutes to a few hours)

• Full-Time general education – not including related services
• 100% of the day with hearing peers with or without SAS (FM system, interpreter)
• Can also include DHH students who are on a 504 plan or recieve no services but can benefit from being in the school school as other DHH students

I propose that regional programs be created throughout Kentucky now! Our children deserve it.

April 5 - Turn LRE Upside Down

Today's #AprilBlogADay topic is:

What practice, tradition, instructional strategy or anything else "must die"? What needs to stop in order for Education to move forward?

Immediately after reading this question, I thought of one practice in the education of children who are Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing that must go away.

How we view the Least Restrictive Environment for DHH students

Before reading any further, it is imperative that you know that what I explain below about students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing are generalizations. Every child with a hearing loss is unique. Some are incredibly successful in the mainstream classroom whether they use hearing aids and communicate verbally or are profoundly Deaf and use American Sign Language and an interpreter in the classroom.

My goal is to talk about this subject broadly so that we can rethink how the Least Restrictive Environment issue is addressed with DHH students.


Least Restrictive Environment

According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Least Restrictive Environment for students with disabilities is:

"To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not disabled, and special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability of a child is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily."

The problem with this definition is how it is interpreted by teachers, administration, and policy makers in its application to DHH students. Their assumption is that putting these children in a classroom with "non-disabled" or hearing peers is the most appropriate educational placement.  

For a certain group of hard of hearing children, yes, I would consider this an appropriate placement.  I work with students in this category who have milder to moderate hearing losses, speak well, and socialize appropriately with hearing peers. They are very successful in the mainstream environment. Although, one can always argue about what "successful" really means, especially if the children are socially isolated from other DHH students. How does that impact their psyche?

As I think about the majority of students who are DHH, especially those whose primary language is American Sign Language (ASL), I say WHOA, wait a minute! Placing them alone in a classroom with 20+ hearing children may not be the most appropriate placement; it is a more restrictive environment. 

To understand why, you must understand my views on DHH students. These views are not unique to me; many in the field of Deaf education have the same opinions.

• Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing are not disabled; it just happens that they can't hear, are visual learners, and process the world differently than those who can. Many regular education teachers don't know how to adjust their instruction to this type of learner
• Many of these students use ASL to communicate, hence members of a linguistic minority such as those students in our schools whose first language is something other than English. Therefore, they need to be able to freely and directly communicate with adults and peers in their first language
• DHH students, like all students, are social beings and crave socialization with other DHH students. As a species, we all gravitate towards those that are like ourselves. One may walk into a cafeteria of a high school and see groups of Black students sitting together. Even those students with mild hearing losses become excited when they finally meet another child who has a hearing loss

In order for this post to not turn into a book, I will cut to the chase. 

When determining the LRE for DHH students, as per IDEA, the IEP team looks at the continuum of services starting with 100% mainstream and goes through each environment until the team comes to one they believe will meet the student's needs. RARELY does a team dicuss every option available, including a school for the Deaf.  This is because according the IDEA regulations, they don't have to; plus IDEA considers a Deaf school to be the most restrictive. For DHH children, this is ludicrous!

I contend that the LRE options need to be turned upside down for DHH students. 

The school for the Deaf should be the very first thing considered for DHH students.  In that environment, students have direct access to instruction from teachers who not only communicate in the language of the child but are fully certified in teaching DHH students.  Additionally, the students can freely communicate with each other; there is no need for an interpreter to facilitate communication between peers. The positive psychological and emotional impact on children who are surrounded by peers who are DHH and use the same language (non similar non-disabled peers as IDEA states) is indescribable. 

The list of reasons why schools for the Deaf should be considered as the first placement option for DHH children is much longer than described above, but you get the gist.

Only after discussing this environment should the team move down the list. A public school that offers self-contained DHH classrooms with the opportunities to mainstream for specials (PE, music, etc) or a content of which the student excels is the most appropriate environment for some students. Still others may over time transition to more mainstream classes while going to a DHH classroom for certain subjects. Then, in my view, what should be discussed last, is if the student should be educated in an environment where they are the lone DHH student.

Self-contained and resource classrooms that allow for DHH peer interaction is difficult for those in rural settings where there may be only 1 or 2 DHH children in the entire district.  Thus, the establishment of regionalized programs is IMPERATIVE to meet the needs of all DHH students.

Although I have blogged about the need for regionalized programs in Kentucky, I had never laid out my vision for them. Since I have 25 more posts to write for the #AprilBlogADay challenge, I think it is time I do so.  Be on the look out!!!

If you are interested in reading some of my previous posts regarding educating DHH students, please read:

Let's Turn the Tide

The Need to Feel Connected

Questions

April 4 - Humanity Beyond the Classroom

As a teacher of students who are deaf and hard of hearing, I serve as a communication bridge between my students and their families. Many of the families of the students with whom I work have limited to no competency in American Sign Language - the language of their children. Therefore, I am sometimes asked to help facilitate dialogue between parent and child, whether heart-breaking or uplifting. 



The loss of a loved one is difficult for all children. Sadly, it is very common for Deaf children to not know when or why someone has died because their family has limited to no ability to effectively convey it to them.  This was true for one of my students whose grandmother passed away.  

One morning during class, Michelle’s mother called me. Because she could not sign, she asked me to share the news with her daughter and to explain how her grandmother died. After hanging up with Michelle’s mother and taking a few seconds to gain my composure, I asked my assistant to take over the lesson and brought Michelle to a quiet location in the school. 

As I shared the devastating news with Michelle, I stopped being her teacher and became her mother.  Teacher preparation programs or professional development do not teach how to have difficult conversations with students.  Not only did I have to share this heartbreaking news with her, I then had to console her as any mother would.  I spent time doing what any mother would do - explaining what happened, hugging her, telling her that her grandmother was in a better place now.  I had to be the one to do this because, even though her mother wished she had the signing skills, she didn't.  That is the most difficult part of my role of serving as a bridge between my students and their family.

Despite only meeting Michelle’s grandmother a few times, I went to the funeral to be there for Michelle.  Her mother saved me a spot in the front pew reserved for immediate family.  Michelle sat between her mother and me.  This was a symbolic gesture that I was part of their family.  

The church had hired two teenage girls who learned to ‘sign’ by reading books on American Sign Language. Because it is virtually impossible to learn American Sign Language by looking at pictures in a book, there were many errors in what they signed, making their message very confusing. A few times during the service I checked in with Michelle to see if she understood what the girls were ’interpreting’; she did not. After no longer being able to tolerate her dismay, I asked her mother if it would be OK if I replaced the girls and properly interpret the remainder of the service. Because Michelle’s mother did not know sign language, she was unaware that the girls were not signing correctly and had no idea that Michelle could not understand any of the service.  I nonchalantly told the girls that Michelle could not understand them, and asked if they would please let me take over.  They gladly stepped aside so that I could interpret. A smile crept onto Michelle’s face as she was finally able to understand the prayers, sermons, and songs of the funeral.

At the end of the service, someone from the church upsettingly approached me asking why I took over interpreting.  After explaining my reasoning, instead of being understanding and supportive, she complained about how difficult it was to find those two girls and that she hoped the pastor would not be furious with her for what I did.  Even though I wanted to give her my speech on the right of equal access to Michelle and tell her how unqualified those girls were, I bit my lip.  Sometimes it is not just worth the energy to advocate to those who have no interest in listening.  I was there to support Michelle and to continue to be that bridge between her and her mother, and that is what I did.


Note: The student's name has been changed.

April 3 - I Crave More Connectedness

In previous posts I have shared about how my life has been turned upside and opened wide as I have become more connected through Twitter, blogging, Voxing, attending ECET2, and being part of the Gates Foundation TAC. I spend every free moment I have (in between family and my thousand plus projects) online trying to continuously learn and grow. My thirst for learning has grown exponentially. Yet I crave more!

I have noticed since joining Twitter in January 2014 that there is a lack of Twitter chat about Deaf Education. I looked at the awesome Google Doc that lists all the educator chats available virtually 24/7, but where is the deaf education chat? No where to be found! Yes, people use the hashtag #DeafEd when they tweet about something related to Deaf Ed, but a chat doesn't exist.

Then it happened! 

In November, I saw a tweet from @behearddc announcing the FIRST EVER #DeafEd Twitter chat.  I think I did a double take.  Were my eyes deceiving me? Was it actually going to happen? Was there finally going to be a chat about my passion, my love, my field?  YES!!!!!

Man, I could not wait to re-tweet and re-tweet and email my teacher friends and post on Face Book this historic event. I wanted the world to know that it was happening!

Students from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a college of Rochester Institute of Technology, were leading this Twitter chat as a class project from their professor Talila Lewis. I could feel my adrenaline rush throughout the entire hour.  I was discussing my field with like-minded professionals and Deaf college students. What made it even more exhilarating than expected was that the students had created online videos of someone signing each question, increasing the equal access to all those participating.  WOW!!!

And then...

There was no more chat :(

The students developed an incredible chat for their project which was now complete.  I wasn't satisfied.  I needed more. There needs to be more!

I will make more!

I contacted the professor about continuing the chat.  TL was 100% supportive of the idea of a chat and agreed to help in anyway possible if I decided to start something.  So I am.

This week I created and disseminated a survey to collect interest from Deaf Ed teachers, Deaf community members, interpreters, college students, etc.  People are providing their feedback on day and time, frequency, and suggesting topics.  Some are even signing up to guest host!  So far less than 30 people have responded. I do hope to get a great deal more before closing the survey and begin to plan for the chat.

With the help of everyone out there..

#DeafEd chat will happen!

Update: April 7, 2015

The new #DeafEd chat is now held the first Thursday of every month at 7:30 p.m. ET. A special kickoff is happening on April 16 with the first monthly chat happening on May 7.

April 2 - The Ripple Effect of a Visionary

The recommended topic for today's #AprilBlogADay is about the ripple effect of something I have done.  However, I just can't seem to write about that, not because I don't want to but because of an announcement that has taken over my thoughts.

Yesterday Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday announced that he will be retiring on August 31.  Immediately, the panic set in on Twitter, FaceBook, texts, phone calls, emails, and teacher conversations.

Will Common Core be stripped away?

Will teacher career pathways dissolve?

What is going to happen to PGES?

Will Kentucky no longer be in the forefront of education in the U.S.?

This panic is valid because Dr. Holliday is no ordinary Education Commissioner; he is a visionary, a leader, a man with a strong growth mindset! Anyone who has been in the same room as him can feel his leadership radiating.

I have been honored since 2012 to serve on Dr. Holliday's Teacher Advisory Council.  I will tell you that this type of TAC is uncommon in the U.S.  When I mention TAC to colleagues outside of Kentucky, they are intrigued; many states don't have one.  Why are we so unique? Dr. Holliday is a former teacher and knows how critical teacher voice is to student improvement and systemic change.  The voices of all the teachers on the Council are heard and validated.  I have seen some of my recommendations come into fruition.

I will never forget the first face-to-face TAC meeting I attended.  A month prior I was named 2013 KY Elementary Teacher of the Year.  This earned me a seat two chairs away from Dr. Holliday at our roundtable.  I felt his energy!  During the meeting there was a presentation that involved some advanced calculations and statistics that was confusing some of us.  Immediately, Dr. Holliday stood up, walked over to chart paper, switched his commissioner hat around to teacher hat, and started explaining to each of us how to interpret what we were seeing.  It became obvious to me then: Dr. Holliday is first and foremost an educator!

I say that Dr. Holliday is a visionary because it appears to me that he is always thinking 5 years ahead.  When you hear him talk, read his blog, or watch the presentation of KDE staff, it is apparent that Dr. Holliday is always one step ahead of us. He can already see where Kentucky is heading and leads everyone down that path.  This is why Kentucky is in the forefront of Common Core implementation.  This is why Kentucky continues to receive ESEA waivers. He has a vision and knows how to get us there!

One can understand why educators are concerned about what will happen to Kentucky's education system once he retires.  However, I have a strong feeling that because he has touched so many lives and has a strong team of leaders and educators working at the Department that Kentucky will remain strong.  Each and every one of has has felt the impact of Dr. Holliday's vision and determination as it ripples throughout the state and the nation.

There will never be another Dr. Holliday, and whoever takes over will have huge shoes to fill. However, the ripples made by Dr. Holliday are so powerful they will continue to expand and never end.

Thank you Dr. Holliday for your 40 years of service to education and by touching my life with your vision!