Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH)

Mission statement: Making education accessible, relevant, and empowering.

Focused on building each student’s strengths to foster their academic, social and emotional growth.

A School Built for Visual Communication:
Alice West Fleet Elementary School is proud to host Arlington County’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) Elementary Program. This specialized program is highly individualized for the unique needs of each learner, taking into account the visual and auditory requirements.  The building was recently constructed and has a very modern aesthetic, which enables simplified visual communication.  For students who are in the gym, they may communicate through the large glass window to a staff member standing upstairs near the DHH room.  The lobby is also visible from the 2nd floor, making arrival and dismissal easier and more visual.  TVs are positioned through the holidays with a host of announcements and videos, including ASL videos instructing in basic communication.  An APS audiologist works closely with the program to ensure all students have the proper amplification they need to access instruction.

Differentiated Instruction and Placement:
Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students require varied approaches to classroom modifications and differentiated instruction.  Fleet offers students the ability to access instruction through many settings.  Some students attend classes in their general education setting for the full day, with an occasional push-in support block from a DHH staff member.  In the mainstream setting, students may or may not require a professional ASL interpreter or a cueing transliterator to provide access to the curriculum.  Other students may spend several hours a day in the DHH classroom receiving core content instruction through an alternate language modality, such as ASL, at a level that is most effective for them.

Regardless of the team’s decision for setting, all students are encouraged to socialize and make relationships with other students who may or may not also be DHH.  DHH students join clubs, attend field trips, participate in filming the Morning News, become safety officers, and read to younger children with their classes!

Services:  Fleet boasts service providers who are not only qualified in their field, but are also familiar with DHH students.  Speech language pathologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, counselors, and our psychologist are all familiar with communication strategies for working with all of our students and even know some sign language.  APS transportation services will provide students with transportation even if Fleet is not in their local area.

How do you determine if Fleet is the best setting for your student?

• Do they need access to ASL and don’t want to be different in their current setting?
• Have they struggled to make progress in their general education setting?
• Are they struggling to hear or produce spoken English?
• Do they need to learn ASL?

We recognize that “specialized programming” can evoke an image of a one-size-fits-all classroom, but at Fleet we understand that almost nothing fits all.  We will strive to enable your student to be academically successful, socially and emotionally strong, a clear communicator, and prepared for the transition to middle school.

DHH Teachers:

Morgan Lee (they/them):  Morgan graduated in 2008 with an undergraduate degree in advertising.  They worked in a Deaf school in Tamaulipas, Mexico for one year before attending Boston University for their Masters in Deaf Education, which they received in 2013.  They worked at Beverly School for the Deaf in Massachusetts before moving to Washington, D.C. to work at Gallaudet University’s Model Secondary School for the Deaf.  After receiving a graduate certificate from Gallaudet in Educating Deaf Students with Additional Disabilities, Morgan began work in Arlington Public Schools in 2019. Morgan will be beginning American University’s Ed.D. program in Education Policy and Leadership in Fall 2022.

Gillian Mogab (she/her): Gillian Graduated in 2019 from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Deaf Education and a minor in American Sign Language. After graduating, she worked as a Deaf and Hard of Hearing itinerant teacher in central Virginia for two years. After relocating to Arlington Virginia, Gillian began working at Alice West Fleet Elementary at the beginning of 2022.

 Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHOH) Staff

Morgan Lee Teacher morgan.lee@apsva.us

Gillian Weeks Teacher gillian.mogab@apsva.us