About CCHAT

Since opening its doors in 1996, CCHAT (Children’s Choice for Hearing and Talking) has occupied a unique position in the greater Sacramento area. As California’s only listening and spoken language program north of San Francisco, we service a very wide area that includes more than 30 school districts. And over the years, we’ve helped hundreds of children who are deaf and hard of hearing matriculate into mainstream school programs.

Click here to access the CCHAT Center – Sacramento School Accountability Report Card

Our Mission Statement

At CCHAT Center, our singular mission is to teach children who are deaf and hard of hearing to develop the necessary speaking, listening, and communication skills required for lifelong success. Mastery of these core areas allows students from our program to matriculate into mainstream schools throughout Northern California. Not only do CCHAT Center graduates manage to keep pace with their hearing peers, but they actually thrive and go on to lead happy, healthy, and productive lives.

Our Core Values

The success of our mission stems from the following core values:

• Fostering effective communication
• Building a community of learners
• Honoring and respecting individual differences
• Change with a positive purpose
• Commitment and responsibility to community

Our Educational Philosophy

We believe that children who are deaf and hard of hearing can master critical listening, speaking, and learning skills – regardless of the severity of hearing loss.

With proper diagnosis and treatment, there is no limit to your child’s growth and development.

Central to this philosophy is our unique approach to individualized speech and language instruction:

• Our small student-to-teacher ratio allows your child to flourish in a caring, supportive, and nurturing environment that is designed to equip him or her with the requisite skills necessary to communicate with confidence. All of our classes range from 1 to 12 students per teacher to ensure highly personalized attention.
• Thematically integrated instruction provides your child with opportunities to master essential speech and language skills – based on their developmental needs and learning preferences.

• We encourage students to participate in extracurricular activities that expose them to new situations and environments. This exposure is most effective when children engage in mainstream activities with their hearing peers. Doing so allows them to apply the core communication principles mastered in the classroom.
• CCHAT Center promotes active participation from parents – both within the classroom and through parent education workshops, school-wide activities, and individualized therapy sessions. Parental involvement is an integral component of your child’s learning and development. And that’s why our highly qualified staff provide ongoing support, guidance, and education to ensure you have the tools required to make your child as independent and self-sufficient as possible.

Meet The CCHAT Center Team

The CCHAT Center staff includes:

• 14 Certified Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• 8 instructional aides
• 5 speech-language pathologists
• 1 speech-language pathology assistant
• 2 on-site audiologists

This diverse team of speech and language professionals is supported by an administrative staff that includes our Executive Director, a Development Team, and a School Secretary.

The CCHAT Center community also includes additional support staff and visiting guest lecturers who specialize in various aspects of speech-language pathology.