Let’s Build a New Way to Get Kids with Hearing Loss Reading on Grade Level


Kenney Moore, director of the Division of State Schools for the Georgia Department of Education, took the stage at the Innovation Forum donning a hard hat. He said it’s a symbol of the hard work that lies ahead, and that everyone who works alongside him has one just like it.

“The hard hat is a constant reminder of the focus we have for helping our deaf students in the state of Georgia,” said Moore, who supervises the three state schools for deaf and blind students, supervises Georgia PINES, one of Georgia’s early intervention programs, and serves as co-chair of the Georgia Pathway to Language and Literacy project.

According to Moore, Georgia Pathway project leaders are focused on getting all children with hearing loss reading on grade level by the end of third grade, regardless of how they communicate. That involves creating a brand new way to go about this—which first requires some demolition.

“Sometimes when you’re building things, you have to tear down things,” Moore explained. “With Georgia Pathway, we tear down any barriers that stand in our way to promote literacy and language development for our children.”

Getting two groups that previously worked separately to work together on the same issue is an example of how Georgia Pathway is developing a plan to get results. Moore said he works primarily on the American Sign Language side of communication modality, while the Atlanta Speech School is on the listening and spoken language side. Typically, across the country, these two sides never meet. They never sit down at the same table to help our children.

“We’ve torn down that barrier in the state of Georgia.”

Find out how, and learn about a set of essential, non-negotiable transactions that have to take place from birth to age 8 to get children with hearing loss reading on grade level by the end of third grade.

Then go back and watch Episode 9 — No Band Aids, to learn more about Gov. Deal’s Reading Mentors Program