High Expectations = High Achievement |
An estimated 60% of students who are D/HH who enroll in postsecondary settings do not graduate (NDC, 2017).
Only 48% of people who are D/HH are employed, compared to 72% of hearing people (NDC, 2018).
These statistics paint a bleak picture. These outcomes should be a call to action for all those dedicated to the success of students who are deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH). As a starting point, educators must presume competence in students who are D/HH, not settling for the status quo. When unsure of a student’s abilities or skills, it is imperative that competence is presumed. This concept promotes acting in a way that, if we are wrong, has the least dangerous effect on a student (Donnellan as referenced in Browder et al., n.d.). Cheryl Jorgenson (2005) expressed, “If a student does not learn, the quality of instruction should be questioned before the student’s ability to learn.” Alexander Den Heiger (2016) reminds readers, “When a flower doesn’t bloom you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.”
NASDSE (2018) further emphasizes this by saying, “[Children who are deaf or hard of hearing], when provided access to appropriate language, learning and academic opportunities designed to enhance their abilities, not their disabilities, can and do attain high levels of achievement that increase their later employment opportunities.”
Expectations, especially those of teachers, drive achievement. There must be an “expectation that most students who are D/HH, including those who are deaf with additional disabilities, can achieve the same or higher levels than their peers” (NASDSE, 2018, p.33). It is our responsibility to change the landscape of performance. It starts with setting high expectations.
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National Audiology Awareness Month |
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October is National Audiology Awareness month! The American Academy of Audiology has several resources dedicated to spreading the news about all things audiological, including hearing-related facts, social aspects of varied hearing levels, and even information about balance and dizziness. We will be including audiologists and hearing care professionals when we discuss the ninth essential principle from the Optimizing Outcomes Guidelines, “Qualified providers are critical to a child’s success;” however we wanted to make sure to celebrate these important service providers during National Audiology Awareness month.
The reality is that these providers are an integral component of learning. Appropriate language access is the starting block for quality education and allows a child who is deaf or hard of hearing to achieve the expectations set before them, not only while they are in the classroom, but throughout their lifespan. We are grateful for the amazing audiologists, including educational audiologists, who support our students who are D/HH in the state of Florida. Be sure to thank an audiologist this month!
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RMTC-D/HH is pleased to announce the panel of experts for the October TA-Live! webinar: Kori Gedris, Allyson Dudich, and Jenna Roth. Kori Gedris is from Putnam County and many of the students she supports are deaf with additional disabilities. Allyson Dudich and Jenna Roth are from Broward County and both are transition specialists for students who are D/HH.
Have a question for the panelists? Fill out a short form in advance!
The webinar will be based off of the second principle of the Optimizing Outcomes Guidelines, “High expectations drive educational programming and future employment opportunities.”
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Kori Gedris is the itinerant teacher for students who are deaf/hard of hearing (ToDHH) in Putnam County, Florida. She is in her 20th year of teaching and has been Putnam County's ToDHH for the past 7 years. She enjoys traveling and is immensely proud of her 17 year old son who is an Eagle Scout and Senior in high school.
Read the interview with Kori Gedris, teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing (ToDHH) in Putnam County. RMTC-D/HH was interested in her experience as a ToDHH pertaining to Principle 2 of the Optimizing Outcomes Guidelines, “High expectations drive educational programming and future employment opportunities,” particularly when working with students who are D/HH with additional disabilities.
Know an educator (e.g., teacher, SLP, interpreter, educational audiologist, paraprofessional) who is doing amazing things with students who are D/HH? Fill out this form to nominate someone or even yourself!
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Expanded Skills Spotlight |
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I Am Who I Am -- Lesson in Self-Advocacy
Standard: SP.PK12.DH.6.1c Articulate the need for specialized or a preferred mode of communication with peers, adults, community members, and employers.
Brief description of the lesson plan:

Students must be able to implement three components to becoming an effective self-advocate as it relates to their hearing loss and their role in their school and community environments. It is important for the success of a student to be able to identify how being deaf or hard of hearing can affect their daily lives by knowing themself, knowing their own needs and knowing how to get what they need appropriately.
Have an idea or lesson plan for an Expanded Skills standard? Email your idea to RMTC-D/HH!
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Resources that are in the RMTC-D/HH Media and Materials Loan Library* that have relevance to the essential principle “High expectations drive educational programming and future employment opportunities.”
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The Hammer - The Inspirational True Story of UFC Fighter Matt Hamill (Catalog Number: 6) “Deaf. Defiant. Determined. Inspired by the life of UFC athlete, Matt Hamill, The Hammer depicts the struggles and successes of what it takes to become a champion, on and off the mat. Raised among those with the ability to hear, Matt finds himself as an outsider not only among the hearing but also among the deaf community. Through sheer determination, he fights his way to the national collegiate championship, and becomes an inspirational force to both hearing and deaf alike. He defied the odds. He chased a dream. He became a champion.” Please note this film is rated PG-13.
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Facilitating The Transition of Students Who Are Deaf Or Hard of Hearing (Catalog Number: 1837) by John Luckner is concise, clear, and very helpful in putting together all of the considerations for effective and beneficial transition planning. The purpose of this book is to help professionals, students, and families become familiar with how to develop and implement individual transition plans for students who are D/HH.
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C.O.A.C.H. - Self Advocacy & Transition Skills for Secondary Students who are D/HH (Catalog Number: 1939) by Lynn Price uses a problem-solving model of C.O.A.C.H. – Concern - Observe - Access - Collaborate - make it Happen to address access and communication needs for students who are D/HH. The book includes: rationale for the instruction model, step-by-step directions, goals and activities, assessments, and reproducible worksheets. Each section addresses specific aspects of advocacy and develops underlying skills to support application.
*Florida stakeholders can borrow these and many other resources from RMTC-D/HH's Media and Materials Loan Library, for FREE. Each material comes with a return label, making even the shipping at no charge to the borrower.
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Family Corner is a section for professionals that will address how they can help parents to be more involved and be more collaborative. This section will be from the perspective of a parent of a child who is deaf and has other disabilities and who also happens to be an educational professional. Depending on the topic, this section may deal with how to approach parents on the topic or help educators understand the parents’ perspectives. |
What families need to know about: High Expectations
In working with children that have disabilities, including children who are deaf and hard of hearing, it is imperative that every professional continuously acts in accordance with a presumption of competence. It may be human nature to draw conclusions about people based on outward appearances; some may even say it is a protective instinctual trait, but this can be a perilous practice for educators. It happens all the time in everyday life, and may be the result of a mix of experiences, cultural beliefs, and input from others. We draw conclusions about another person’s intentions, abilities, strengths, weaknesses, intelligence, and other characteristics. As educators, we should remain aware of the potential consequences in drawing such conclusions. Physical disabilities may mask fantastic minds. Intellectual or emotional disabilities may not be visible. It is important to begin with the belief that every child, with or without an IEP, is capable of performing competently in the classroom, and it may be us that need to adjust so that the child may access and learn. The presumption of competence was described by Anne Donnellan in 1984 when she said, “...in the absence of conclusive data, educational decisions ought to be based on assumptions which, if incorrect, will have the least dangerous effect on the likelihood that students will be able to function independently as adults. Furthermore, we should assume that poor performance is due to instruction inadequacy rather than to student deficits.”
Sometimes preconceived notions about a person or a population can lead educators to be more empathetic toward that person or population. It is human nature to want to take care of and protect someone, particularly a child, that has a disability. Unfortunately, it becomes all too easy to relax high expectations on the basis of disability. This sometimes manifests in going too easy on a person, or letting them slide, while still giving them the grades that they may not have truly earned. For the sake of the student, this should stop! Not holding students with disabilities to the same high standards and expectations as students without disabilities is not only unethical, but also conditions the student to respond to lower expectations and often leads to learned helplessness. Standards the student has not learned or mastered today will impact their ability to succeed in future classes. By being excused from prerequisites, students will not be prepared to master the next level of skills and knowledge. Holding those high standards matter now and later. What we do today resonates through time. Helping a child to anticipate and respond to high expectations may help empower a child to succeed to the best of his or her ability because that is what they were taught to expect of themselves.
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The FSDB is excited to continue the Virtual ECC Interactive Learning Series for children ages 6-13 who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) or blind or visually impaired (B/VI). Students who have an active individual educational plan with D/HH or B/VI as their primary exceptionality are eligible to register for these exciting weekend sessions. The virtual ECC sessions are available at no cost and all registered children will receive materials delivered to their homes for participation via live conferencing and engaging online classroom activities. Each lesson is themed differently and led by certified teachers with experience working with students who are D/HH or B/VI. The session for children ages 6-9 is on October 9-10, 2020, and the session for children ages 10-13 is on November 6-7, 2020. Space is limited and registration is required.
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The newest issue of the Odyssey magazine from the Laurent Clerc Center has been released! The 2020 issue of Odyssey focuses on how schools, professionals, and families are working together to create and foster inclusive environments for all children who are deaf and hard of hearing.
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Gallaudet University’s National Literacy Competition is back! Submission to the competition is from November 9-20, 2020. This competition is open to 2nd through 12th grade students who are D/HH to compete to showcase their ASL and writing skills at a national level.
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Upcoming Events: Save the Date! |
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RMTC-D/HH provides Tech Notes as a free resource to teachers, professionals, and parents around the state in order to pass along potentially useful information and expand the knowledge and opportunities available to educators and families of children who have hearing loss. This email was funded by the Florida Department of Education Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services through federal assistance under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), Part B funds. The information included does not reflect any specific endorsement by any parties involved. |
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Stay in touch via social networking; follow us daily!
#TechnologyTuesday: Latest in technology in regards to Deaf Education.
#ResourceWednesday: Resources from other organizations that are specific to Deaf Education
#BehindTheScenesThursday: Memories of RMTC-D/HH events and exclusive “behind the scenes” captures of RMTC-D/HH’s goings-on
#FunFAQFriday: answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) in the field of Deaf Education
#SpotlightSaturday: Lesson plans related to the Florida Expanded Skills Standards AND spotlighting different highly effective teachers and what they are doing in their teaching environment
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