Supporting Success for Children with Hearing Loss began in 2011 with the goal of creating an ‘umbrella website’ for teachers of the deaf/hard of hearing. Supporting Success was built on the concept of making practical information readily available, resulting in the current resource-packed website.
Core Goals of Supporting Success are:
1. Provide persons who work with students who are deaf or hard of hearing the resources to fulfill our mission “to improve the futures of children with hearing loss.”
2. Maintain a growing bank of free information relevant to supporting child development and student success, including free Update newsletters with topical information sent to over 10,000 subscribers twice monthly
3. Provide products for sale that have been specifically selected to support the success of students with hearing loss, offered at a price equal to, or lower than, all other sources
a. Develop and publish resources when gaps are identified through Supporting Success for Children with Hearing Loss Publications
b. Provide information and instructional materials specifically for use with students who are deaf and hard of hearing via (1) Teacher Tools membership and (2) Teacher Tools Takeout marketplace
4. Provide relevant and practical professional development specifically for teachers of the deaf/hard of hearing and others who support school success of these students
a. Webcasts, Meet Ups and community contact via The Online Itinerant Professional Academy
b. Offer professional presentations upon invitation to school districts, regional programs, and relevant conference venues
c. Offer a biennial Supporting Success for Children with Hearing Loss Conference specific to the interests of itinerant teachers of the deaf/hard of hearing, at as low a cost as possible, with practical presentations to improve teacher knowledge and instruction
5. Strengthen knowledge on student rights for improved advocacy for the purpose of improving student eligibility, communication access in school (including Streamer speech-to-text captioning), and appropriate levels of specialized instruction to allow students the opportunity to achieve at the rate and to the level of their class peers.
