Deaf & Hard of Hearing

A daily plan of instruction is in place which includes each student's schedule and learning targets for each group lesson and individual student work. Instruction is individualized to address the student's Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals as well as academics, communication, social skills and activities of daily living. Plans include systematically teaching generalization of skills across people, settings, time and materials. 

Hearing technology allows students to be more independent. When the equipment isn’t working or the teacher is on mute, students have opportunities to manage their environment to support hearing:

• Change themselves (e.g., move seat).
• Change the environment (e.g., close the door).
• Ask others to change (e.g., look at me when you speak).

Students can explain their hearing loss and equipment to an unfamiliar person. Secondary students explain their accommodations and why they need them. Students take on a leadership role in their IEP meetings.

Students have explicit and direct language instruction from Teacher of the Deaf (TOD), given daily for Pre-K and elementary and multiple times weekly for secondary. Communication plan action items are implemented to develop the student’s primary mode of communication in all school environments. Every lesson addresses the four domains: reading, writing, receptive communication and expressive communication.

Meaningful data is collected, analyzed and discussed on an ongoing basis (e.g., IEP goals, learner outcomes, behavior). Data is used to analyze individual student's response to the intervention. Decisions are made in a timely manner if the student is not making progress with the intervention.

Itinerant teachers play a vital role in the Jeffco Public Schools system, acting as a bridge between specialized hearing services and the general education classroom. Because they move between multiple locations, their approach is highly collaborative and consultative.

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The Role of an Itinerant Teacher

Unlike a site-based teacher who stays in one classroom, an itinerant teacher’s "classroom" is the entire district or their specific region. Their primary goal is to ensure that students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) have equal access to the general education curriculum.

Core Responsibilities

• IEP & 504 Development: Collaborating with school teams to design and implement IEP or 504, as determined through evaluation and eligibility processes.
• Strategy Development: Providing general education teachers with specific techniques to support DHH learners.
• Environmental Recommendations: Advising on classroom acoustics, seating arrangements, and the use of assistive technology (i.e., FM systems).
• Direct Instruction: Working one-on-one with students on specialized skills for self-advocacy , language/communication, and/or literacy.

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Service Models

• Direct Services: The itinerant teacher works directly with the student to develop specific skills.
• Indirect Services: The itinerant teacher works with the adults (general education teachers and staff) to monitor the student’s progress and collaborate with school team on general ed instruction, specialized instruction by special education providers, and accommodations. This is common because many general education teachers may not have extensive experience with hearing-specific needs.

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Support Across the Years

Support is not limited to K-12; it follows the student through every major transition:

• Child Find: Evaluation to determine eligibility for special education services
• Early Childhood: Starting as early as preschool.
• K-12: Ongoing support throughout elementary, middle, and high school.
• Transition Services: Continuing support for students (up to age 21) who are moving into post-secondary life, career training, or independent living through Jeffco Transition Services.

Maple Grove Elementary is home to Jeffco’s Auditory and Oral Deaf (AOD) and a DHH center-based program. This program has the advantage of having qualified professionals who provide services to students with hearing loss. Professionals include eachers of the Deaf (TODs), EAs, Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) and a Mental Health Provider (MHP). 

Students participate within the general education setting as well as the DHH classroom. Programming and instruction are individualized to meet each child’s needs. In addition to these specialized professionals, students may work with experienced and trained paraeducators to provide them with extra support within the general education classroom. 

A benefit of this program is that it’s located within a regular elementary school. This model allows students to participate within the general education setting as well as the DHH classroom. The goal of the program is to provide DHH students with the knowledge necessary to become independent in academics, social skills and self-advocacy. 

On a daily basis, general education teachers work collaboratively with DHH teachers to provide students with specific strategies to enhance their ability to access the curriculum. Accommodations and strategies may include preferential seating, comprehension checks, clarification and rephrasing, pre-teaching and reteaching and the use of AT such as a personal FM system. 

The Auditory and Oral (AO) approach at Maple Grove teaches children, beginning as early as infancy, to use hearing and speech to develop spoken language for communication and learning. Sign language is not used in the AO approach; however, natural gestures that are used in typical conversation are included. 

Visual support of written materials or pictures is used extensively to help students understand new classroom information. AO education can be used with most children, regardless of where that child’s hearing loss is in the mild through profound range. Families who choose this approach commit to helping children use their hearing and speech for language and communication. Professionals work closely with families to help them use hearing aids, cochlear implants, FM systems or hearing technology that is appropriate for the child.

Maple Grove Elementary: DHH Total Communication (TC) Program

The Maple Grove DHH Total Communication Program provides services to students with hearing loss from prekindergarten to fifth grade. Our DHH team includes (TODs, EAs, Educational Interpreters, SLPs, and a MHP, as well as educational sign-language interpreters, and paraeducators.

At Maple Grove, TODs serve students with communication modes that fit each student’s diverse and unique needs. An example of various communication modes includes AO, ASL, and Simultaneous Communication (SIM COM)- signing while talking. 

The use of primary mode to provide access to lessons and concepts taught is often bolstered by pre and post-teaching of information as well as reviewing and understanding of less familiar materials. 

Maple Grove Preschool: DHH Preschool Program

Maple Grove also houses Jeffco’s preschool program and a  DHH+ (plus additional disabilities) program. The program serves students from three to five years old with various levels of support for pre-academics and communication. There are options for half-day or modified full-day or intensive needs. Our DHH team includes TODs, EAs, SLPs, and paraeducators. 

Supports include integrated classroom settings with typical hearing peers providing language and social skill models. Students in the program are taught self-regulation and self-advocacy skills that are critical for continued educational success.

DHH preschool program provides an ECE (Early Childhood Education) curriculum with an emphasis on receptive and expressive language development using the student’s primary communication mode.

In addition to DHH classrooms, mainstream opportunities are available based on student performance and progress. Schedules are tailored to appropriately meet students’ communication, academic and social needs in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). TODs regularly collaborate with general educators to ensure that a student with hearing loss will have their communication needs met.

Rocky Mountain Deaf School is a free public charter school in Jefferson County that offers a bilingual education for DHH students from preschool to 12th grade.