May is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month

May is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month! From helping students find their voices to building confidence in communication, our Speech-Language Pathologists across the District play a vital role in student success both inside and outside the classroom.

"I love what I do. I enjoy helping students develop communication skills and learning strategies that support academic success, social interaction, independence and life beyond graduation,” said Tappan Zee High School Speech-Language Pathologist Betty Ann Brennan, MA, CCC-SLP, TSHH.

When asked about her William O. Schaefer Elementary School colleague, Dr. Melissa Jacob, CCC-SLP, TSSLD, MTSS Provider and Team Leader Lauren Maurer said, “We are so fortunate to have Dr. Jacob at WOS! Her passion and dedication to her students is inspiring. Dr. Jacob is a wealth of knowledge and knows exactly what her students need and the underlying reasons why. She creates fun, engaging activities to support her students where they are. Dr. Jacob is friendly, warm, patient and kind. She builds her students up, so they feel confident and successful. Her students adore her and leave smiling after each session. Dr. Jacob is also a true partner and trusted resource amongst the staff. She is a valued member and voice at MTSS and CST meetings, always going out of her way to help collaborate on ways to support student needs. Her extensive knowledge allows her to think about the whole child and ways to best support strengths and weaknesses. Dr. Jacob is a true treasure, and I am so lucky to work alongside her!”

Cottage Lane Elementary School’s Speech-Language Pathologist, Ariana Rodon, MS, CCC-SLP, Bilingual TSHH, asked some of her students to share how receiving speech has helped them thrive. Here’s what some of them had to say:

E., fourth grade student: “At speech, I learn to predict. It makes me happy to be here. She teaches me strategies with the ‘R’ sound. Mrs. Rodon is the best speech teacher ever!”

R., fifth grade student: “Speech helps me be more fluent and not stutter. I get to do fun activities with friends and my favorite speech activity is reading aloud.”

V., fifth grade student: “I love speech because it helps me learn information about speech, helps me achieve my goals and I learn so many things.”

M., fifth grade student: “I have learned about adjectives, nouns, synonyms, confidence and communication. Speech helps me to be a great communicator."