Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program
Teachers
Ms. Lora Allison: Hello! This is my 15th year in the Barnsley DHOH program. I teach the kindergarten and 1st grade DHOH class. I have an undergraduate degree in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s degree from Towson is in Early Childhood Education. I enjoy helping students develop language and watching them grow as learners. I love doing outdoor activities like skiing, hiking, kayaking, gardening, and playing with my dogs.
Ms. Jessica Geisel: I was born in Queens, New York and grew up in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. I received my Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education and Master's degree in Deaf Education from Bloomsburg University. I've been teaching in Montgomery County for five years in the Deaf/Hard of Hearing program. I currently live in Ellicott City, Maryland. In my spare time I like to exercise and spend time with my family and friends.
Ms. Kayla Johnson: I have a Bachelor’s in Linguistics with minors in Mathematics and Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences from the University of Florida (Go Gators!). My Master’s is in Deaf Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. I love to read, but my favorite subject is Math. I also love to learn languages - I have studied Spanish, French, German, and American Sign Language. I was born in Maryland, grew up in Florida, and spent a couple of years in New York; now I’m back in Maryland! This is my ninth year teaching in our DHOH program at Barnsley!
Mrs. Robin Kittleman
Our DHOH program here at Barnsley is a comprehensive Kindergarten through 5th Grade program. We provide a mixed model of self-contained/resource instruction and mainstreaming opportunities with support/co-teaching. We adhere to a Total Communication philosophy, by which we use Sign Language with our students while also providing them with auditory speech input. Together, our DHOH Teachers, Auditory Communication Specialist, Paraeducators, and Sign Language Interpreters are committed to providing the highest quality instruction and support that is tailored to meet each student’s individual needs.
If you are a parent or another interested individual and would like to learn some signs from American Sign Language, the following websites provide images and videos for a variety of signs: