Spring Edition: Offering resources and tips to ensure uninterrupted support for students who are deaf or hard of hearing in Florida.
LSL Tip: IEP Season Resources
Shared by Melissa Pyzik, MED, LSLS Cert. AVEd, Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech
With IEP season here, it's important for school teams to discuss and develop goals that focus on the individual needs of each child.

Quick Tips:

  • Invite students to participate in their IEP meeting. This is one of the best ways for students to practice self-advocacy and self-determination skills.

  • Involve caregivers and support teams in the process. Caregivers acknowledge the benefits of working with professionals who view them as important members of the IEP Team. Jillian Tweet, the mother of a Clarke alum who is now in an inclusive elementary setting shared "Sonia Howley, a program specialist with St.John's County School District, works with us to explore goals that meet my child's specific needs."

  • Build a thoughtful and data-driven IEP.
"A well-written IEP is data driven. We need to use a variety of assessments to target deficient areas and write measurable goals that support students' journeys toward grade level expectations within the curriculum."

—Sonia Howley, Program Specialist with St. John's County School District
IEP Resources:
  • IEP Jeopardy: Looking for a way to target independent functioning goals and generate good conversations about the IEP process with older students? IEP Jeopardy is a printable game sheet that puts a fun twist on learning about the IEP process for students and helps educators design custom goals for their needs.

Add to Your Bookshelf: "All About IEPs" by Peter Wright, Pamela Wright and Sandra O'Conner
Do you need a resource for older students who are working on drafts of their Communication Plan and IEP? Are you working with parents who want to know more about their rights? "All About IEPs" is written in parent-friendly and easy to understand language. Information about students with hearing loss can be found in Chapter 7, and Chapter 8 is dedicated to assistive technology.
Additional Resources
  • News to Support Mainstream Teachers and Students: Find tips for conducting a college search during the pandemic, ways to spot and prevent learning regression, how to support students' social-emotional learning—and more with Mainstream News.

  • Summer Reading Program (birth to 15): The Florida Coalition for Spoken Language invites families of children with hearing loss to participate in the Deaf Kids Can Summer Reading Program.

Professional Development and Online Training

  • Hearing Loss in Schools Presented by Nemours Children's Specialty Care in Jacksonville (May 7): This collaborative event is for parents and professionals working with children with hearing loss. To register, email amy.thomas@nemours.org with your full name and work setting.

Bright Spot Story: Garrett's LSL Journey
Garrett has bilateral hearing loss and started his listening and spoken language journey at Clarke Florida when he was 18 months old. He is now a sophomore at his neighborhood high school and takes honors classes. He is an advocate for his peers and shares his listening and spoken language journey with incoming families new to the hearing loss diagnosis.
About Us and This Newsletter
"Talking About Florida" is a quarterly newsletter produced by Clarke Florida that serves as a resource for families and professionals. The newsletter is made possible through the Bureau of Exceptional Student Education and Student Services (BEESS) Discretionary Project Auditory-Oral Education Grant.

Clarke Florida serves children and families by providing a wide range of auditory-oral services and programs through early intervention (birth-three), preschool-first grade, mainstream and speech and language services with experts who focus on achieving key milestones at every stage. The auditory-oral program for children ages three to seven is in partnership with school districts in Florida and the Department of Education.

Have an event or resource to share?
Email Clarke Florida at florida@clarkeschools.org.
Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. As an IRS qualified charity, gifts to Clarke are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Our Work. Our Reach. Your Role: New and increased donations will go even further thanks to a partial matching grant from a generous funder.

Since 1867, Clarke has provided children who are deaf or hard of hearing with the education needed to succeed in a hearing world. Clarke has evolved to best meet the needs of children and families today though our infant-toddler, virtual tVISIT, preschool, K-8, mainstream and summer programs, as well as through our hearing center, comprehensive educational evaluations and research and professional development.

Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech | 9803 Old St. Augustine Road #7, Jacksonville, Fl. 32257
Voice 904.880.9001 | florida@clarkeschools.org  | clarkeschools.org