Jessy Reeves was diagnosed with profound hearing loss at 11-months-old. Her mother advocated strongly to include her in a mainstream classroom setting so Reeves would have access to the same kind of education hearing students would receive.
Fast forward to 2024, and Reeves is now a deaf education teacher at Nacogdoches ISD’s McMichael Middle School. And her mother, Kayla Hughes, oversees the district’s special education program after several years serving as NISD’s Director of Deaf Education.
“Back then I remember I had to fight to get her in mainstream classes,” Hughes said. “Now, deaf ed students are coming and going in our classes, coming in for parts of subjects or for all of specific subjects based on what they need.
“Sometimes they’re pulled out to directly support the development of their (sign) language. It’s very different today, and for the better, because they’re getting more exposure to what everyone else is being exposed to academically, socializing with their peers who are hearing, deaf, or hard of hearing, while we are also able to provide the most support for their language development and culture.”
September is National Deaf Awareness Month.
Reeves is a 2013 graduate of Nacogdoches High School and received her degree from Stephen F. Austin State University in Multidisciplinary Studies in Psychology, Nutrition, and Biology, with the goal to become a dentist.
“No, no, no… I did not want to be a teacher ever,” Reeves said.
That changed. Within a short period of time, she reconsidered – her work schedule would align more closely with her children’s, for example – and Reeves got an alt-certification and moved into the classroom.
“I really enjoy teaching,” she said. “It’s hard sometimes, but I really enjoy seeing the deaf and hard of hearing students being successful. And I enjoy helping them learn how to navigate the hearing world, showing them they can be successful and being a model and helping provide them that extra piece of, ‘here’s how you will use that in the hearing world.’”
The students Reeves work with have a wide range of hearing loss.
“I have one who’s profoundly deaf, I have one who’s hard of hearing and one who signs and ones who have (cochlear implants),” Reeves said. “I love the variety of deafness and hard of hearing, and the students and all the different levels. I enjoy that I can interact and communicate with both.
“My voice itself isn't wonderful. I do better with my cochlear (device) on so that I can understand my tone and how loud I am.”
What goes on in deaf education classrooms is similar to hearing classrooms, Reeves said. “My class is like a hearing classroom except I’m having to make these concepts in their language and make them visual. Sometimes they can’t learn it the same way or present it the same way. I enjoy that I can provide that support for them and at a slower pace.”
Hughes and Reeves both see changes on the horizon for deaf education. Nacogdoches ISD’s regional deaf ed program hosts 21 other districts from East Texas.
“I foresee, because of parents wanting their children to participate in their home districts, more services being provided closer to home,” said Hughes. “But there's always going to be a need for districts to join together and share services so that students have direct communication access with peers and professional personnel that use their mode of communication.”
Reeves encourages hiring the deaf and hard-of-hearing to fill employment roles, even when hurdles to communication might seem difficult to overcome.
“It's important for people to realize that just because people are deaf or hard of hearing doesn't mean that they can't do things,” Reeves said.
Hughes commends her daughter’s first employer – located out of state – for hiring Reeves shortly after she graduated from college.
“A friend had told her future boss to give her a try, and they finally set up an interview,” Hughes said. “I think she still has a letter from her boss in Seattle that said he had initially thought that it would be too difficult, but he gave her the opportunity, and now he encourages others to do it.”