COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Kyle Viola graduated from Palmer High School. He attends the University of Northern Colorado, and he is a student teacher at Stratton Elementary School. And he does this while being completely deaf.
Viola lost his hearing at the age of 2. He grew up in District 11 and attended special programs with the support of his family and the school.
He is currently finishing a Master's Degree at the University of Northern Colorado in Deaf Education. He is doing student teaching at Stratton Elementary.
He teaches under Kate Foote. Foote said it's amazing what Kyle's been able to do. The kids are very receptive to his teaching, and he is a role model to them. Foote steps in to help Viola with the phonics portion of the curriculum.
Viola understands the difficulties of being a deaf teacher. He knows that he will have to rephrase things to clarify to the students. But he is glad to learn and achieve his goals to become a teacher.