Submitted by Janelle Parker, NC Teacher
Every July, school districts begin preparing for another school year. Caseloads are assigned. Service providers are secured. New staff are onboarded. Student schedules begin taking shape. While students are enjoying summer break, district leaders are already planning for a successful school year.
For students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, that planning matters.
Communication is the primary disabling factor for students with hearing loss. Every school day, these students depend on effective communication to access instruction, participate in classroom discussions, and connect with teachers and peers.
That communication doesn't begin on the first day of school.
It begins weeks earlier as the adults supporting those students prepare to work together.
As districts make staffing decisions and prepare for a new school year, one question is worth asking:
If communication is the greatest challenge for students with hearing loss, is communication also one of the greatest strengths of the team supporting them?
A Lesson From Last Year
Last school year, one district experienced a transition that many districts will eventually face.
A longtime Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing retired after many years of service. As student needs changed, the district contracted with Equalize Sensory Services to provide additional HI services.
The district had planned well. Staffing decisions were complete. Caseloads had been assigned. Services were ready before students arrived.
Most schools transitioned without difficulty.
One elementary school, however, served only one student who was Deaf or Hard of Hearing. The case manager received an email from an unfamiliar outside address and wasn't sure who the sender was. Wanting to protect confidential student information, they chose to verify the new HI teacher before responding. They reached out to the district's longtime educational audiologist, someone they already knew and trusted. Because the audiologist worked part time, several days passed before everyone connected.
No one had done anything wrong.
The district had met its responsibilities. The case manager appropriately protected confidential information. The new HI teacher reached out promptly.
The experience reinforced the value of intentional communication before the school year begins.
One intentional introduction before school started could have helped everyone connect more quickly.
Across the districts we support, we've seen similar situations whenever experienced staff retire, providers change, or students move to new schools. These situations are uncommon, but they remind us that preparing for students also means preparing the communication that supports those students.
Why Communication Matters
Many schools serve only one or two students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Because of that, principals, classroom teachers, and case managers may only work with a Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing occasionally. Educational audiologists, educational interpreters, and transliterators often serve multiple schools or even multiple districts. These specialized positions can also be difficult to fill.
Students with hearing loss often have quiet needs.
They may not be the students generating behavior referrals or drawing attention to themselves. Instead, they may quietly miss pieces of classroom discussion, announcements, or instruction when communication is not fully accessible.
Providing services is only the first step. Helping those services work together is what students experience every day.
Putting Communication Into Practice
By July, staffing decisions are already underway. Once those responsibilities have been addressed, a few intentional planning steps can strengthen communication before the school year begins.
Preserve What Experience Has Taught You
When an experienced Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing retires or changes districts, years of valuable knowledge leave with them.
Not just student information.
Relationships.
Communication pathways.
District procedures.
Building history.
Knowledge about equipment and available resources.
Ask yourself:
- Could a new HI teacher quickly find the information they need?
- Is contact information for HI teachers, educational audiologists, educational interpreters, and transliterators easy to locate?
- Are district procedures documented?
- Are available resources and loaner equipment easy to find?
Capturing that information before it is needed allows new team members to spend less time searching for answers and more time preparing to support students.
Build Communication Into Your Process
Communication should not depend on people already knowing one another.
Instead, build communication into your district's planning.
Ask questions such as:
- Will each school know who supports its students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing?
- Do new HI teachers have the access they need before school starts?
- Is there a communication plan for introducing new providers to the schools they serve?
- Could a case manager quickly identify the correct person to contact with a question?
Just as importantly, think about how information flows within each school.
Lead EC teachers, case managers, SLPs, and other special education staff already meet before students return. Rather than creating another meeting, consider introducing your district's DHH Team Resource Guide during one of those existing meetings.
A DHH Team Resource Guide could be as simple as a SharePoint page, Google Site, district intranet page, PDF, or even a printed quick-reference guide. The format matters less than making sure staff know where to find it.
It might include:
- Contact information for Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- Educational audiologist contact information
- Educational interpreter and transliterator assignments
- District procedures
- Frequently used forms
- Equipment procedures
- Available resources and loaner equipment
- Links to additional district resources
Staff do not need to remember every answer.
They simply need to know where to find it.
Don't assume only the schools currently serving students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing need this information.
Students move. Families relocate. Attendance boundaries change. A building without a student who is Deaf and Hard of Hearing this August may welcome one later in the school year.
Sharing your DHH Team Resource Guide with every school—and introducing it during existing EC team meetings—helps ensure that when a student arrives, the building already knows where to begin. Staff don't have to become experts overnight. They simply need to know who to call, where to find resources, and how to connect with the district's HI team.
Plan Time for Communication
Teachers may not be working in July, but administrators are already planning August.
As teacher workdays and EC meetings are scheduled, look for opportunities to connect the HI team with the people who support students in each building.
A brief introduction to the HI team, a review of the DHH Team Resource Guide, or a short discussion about communication pathways may be all that is needed.
Those few minutes can save hours of confusion later.
For schools serving only one or two students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, those introductions often become the foundation for successful communication throughout the school year.
Communication Begins Before the First Day
Students with hearing loss spend every school day working to overcome communication barriers.
July gives districts an opportunity to make sure communication is never a barrier for the adults supporting those students.
Students and families will never see the July planning meetings.
They won't see the emails, introductions, or conversations that happen before teachers return.
What they will experience is a team that already knows one another.
A team that knows where to find answers.
A team that communicates well.
When the right people know one another, know where to find resources, and know how to communicate before school starts, students begin the year with something they may never notice—but will benefit from every day:
A team that's already connected.
At Equalize Sensory Services, we believe the strongest educational teams are built before students walk through the school doors. Thoughtful planning, strong communication, and collaborative relationships help create learning environments where students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing can thrive from the very first day.
Equalizing access. Empowering success.
To learn more about our Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing services, professional development opportunities, and educational resources, explore the resources available through Equalize Sensory Services.