The BCSS programs for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing are the largest and most comprehensive in New Jersey. Children and their families from birth to twenty-one are provided services throughout the continuum and students are educated through a listening and spoken language or a total communication approach.

Bergen County Special Services Continuum for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

• STARS Early Intervention Program
• HIP- Godwin & Highland Schools, Midland Park
• HIP- Union Street School, Hackensack
• SHIP- Midland Park High School
• SHIP- Hackensack High School
• Sound Solutions, Itinerant Services

     The listening and spoken langue track focuses on the development of listening while developing speech and language skills, while the total communication track incorporates sign language in addition to speech, speech-reading. Both approaches emphasize access to communication while focusing on the development of communication skills through intensive speech and language therapy in conjunction with the use of residual hearing. Programs for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing are located in Midland Park and Hackensack. This arrangement offers students inclusion opportunities and interaction within an integrated general education setting. Collaborative teaching and consultative teaching models are used to offer support. Participation in lunch and recreation periods and a full range of academic and extracurricular activities are among the inclusion options offered. Students are eligible to participate in general education classes, physical education, sports, music, art, and library classes. A variety of cultural enrichment activities, such as performances by the National Theater of the Deaf, therapeutic recreation, field trips, sign language classes and student and parent support groups are offered throughout the year.

     Sound Solutions offer support to students and staff regarding educating students with hearing loss within their home districts. This program consists of itinerant teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, educational audiologists, and speech therapists. The focus of this support is to provide students with access to communication while fostering advocacy and social skill development.

     Our STARS early intervention program provides guidance, information, and support to families who have a child diagnosed with a hearing loss. Along with direct services, STARS invites families to participate in Baby & Me and Toddler & Me groups, parent support groups, and special topical presentations.