Skip To Main Content

horizontal-nav

Breadcrumb

Echo Center

Our

Foundation

What is the Echo Center?

The Echo Center is a state licensed school for primary-grade students with hearing loss and a State of California certified Nonpublic School (NPS) program within Echo Horizon School. It is not a separate campus, but an integrated program designed to support students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) in developing listening and spoken language skills while learning alongside their hearing peers.

Approximately 15 percent of Echo Horizon students are DHH and use hearing technology, learning in inclusive classrooms that reflect our commitment to educating the whole child. Through specialized instruction, individualized tutoring, and additional guidance from highly skilled DHH teachers, students are immersed in an environment intentionally designed to meet their needs. As a result, both DHH and hearing students thrive together, participating fully and successfully at high academic and social levels.

 

 

The Benefits for All Students

Benefits of the Echo Center Co-Enrollment Inclusion Model

  • Mutual Academic Growth: All students, with and without hearing loss, benefit academically by supporting peers, receiving additional help, and engaging in collaborative learning.

  • Communication & Social Competence: All students develop face-to-face communication, social-emotional skills, and peer connections, while hearing students also learn to interact inclusively.

  • Peer Group Membership: Having multiple deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students in each grade fosters belonging, reduces social isolation, and supports identity development during critical early years.

  • Empathy & Advocacy: DHH students learn to advocate for their communication and academic needs; hearing students develop empathy and advocate for peers’ access and inclusion.

  • Perspective-Taking & Social Justice: Inclusive classrooms nurture understanding of differences, helping all students appreciate diversity and practice thoughtful, compassionate behavior.

  • Specialized Academic Support: Daily collaboration between DHH specialists and general education teachers ensures personalized instruction, differentiation, and reinforcement of concepts for all students.

  • Enhanced Learning for All: Inclusion allows for small group instruction, accommodations like closed captioning or repetition, and targeted support, benefiting the full classroom community without compromising academic performance.

What Is Echo Center’s Co-Enrollment Model, and Why It Is So Unique?

A co-enrollment program is essentially educating several deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students in a general education classroom that has a majority of hearing students. By this definition, Echo Horizon School follows a co-enrollment model. Co-enrollment programs are still very unique in the United States and around the world. The Echo Center is a member of the OPTION Schools Network, which is a national network of approximately 35 private listening and spoken-language programs. There are less than a handful of co-enrollment programs in the OPTION Schools Network that meet the criteria of majority hearing students.

Educational Programs

Jennifer Mascolo

Director of Echo Center

Enrollment Questions?

For questions or more information about admissions to the Echo Center program, please contact:

The Admissions Office

Phone: (310) 838-2442

hearing Technology

Our Echo Center students don’t use sign language. They use listening and spoken language skills to communicate and learn at school. Personal hearing technology and classroom hearing technology are essential to the development of age-appropriate listening and spoken language skills and they also ensure that our students can hear in all school spaces. 

We seamlessly integrate this technology into the fabric of our school culture. From an early age, all of our Echo Horizon students—both hearing and DHH—learn the importance of appropriate and consistent use of hearing technology for communication and learning. 

Personal Hearing Technology used by Echo Center Students

Classroom Hearing Technology used in All School Spaces

At Echo Horizon School we use cutting edge technology: the Roger digitally modulated (DM) system by Phonak in our school spaces. Classrooms are noisy and this system is essential to making sure that our Echo Center students have clear access to sound. It helps offset the negative impact of background noise and distance from the primary sound source. Below are the individual components of the Roger DM system: