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My name is Suzanne, and I'm principal of a large middle school in Southern California.
And every year I have between 1100 to 1200 students who come through my school.
And from year to year, I do have a good size population of students who have special needs,
including students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
We luckily have an amazing team at the district office that helps educate us as teachers
and principals on how to best educate all of our students,
including our students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The one thing that I do here at my school, in terms of bullying,
and in terms of student education and parent education,
is because we are such a big school, I tell students,
"You need to find at least one adult on campus that you feel comfortable going to."
"Of course you have that adult at home,"
and your parents are the number one person you should go to if anyone is bullying you or teasing you."
But in terms of school, because your parent may not be at school,
I think it's really important for every child to have at least one adult that they can go to.
When a child can establish relationships with adults
and with students to, um — and feel comfortable speaking about what works for them,
then when something happens where they get teased or they get bullied,
hopefully, they will feel much more confident in going up to an adult and letting them know,
or saying to the person, "Stop! That's not funny!"
Especially in the middle school years, being, feeling included is very, very important to the child.
It is very difficult for teachers to make sure that deaf or hard of hearing students are
truly accessing their curriculum in their classrooms.
And the reason that I say that is because public school classrooms are large.
So for any child, but most importantly a child with hearing loss,
to be an advocate for themselves, it takes time, and it takes front-loading, if you will.
It's very important for parents to make sure their child is known at school,
and that teachers and staff know about the child's disability.
It's also important that the family invite friends over so that other kids can see, and hear,
and learn about the child's hearing problems, or what works for them and how they communicate;
what's the best way for them to play or communicate.
There are many roles in a school in supporting children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Teachers' role is primarily in the classroom, ensuring that students are accessing the curriculum and are successful,
and that they're inspired to learn.
The administration, principals, counselors, the rest of us
are at the school to make sure that all of our students are safe, and engaged, and happy.