 
Rochester After School Academy at RSD (RASA@RSD) is free and is open to all deaf and hard-of-hearing students living and attending schools in the Rochester and Monroe County area. RASA@RSD provides high-quality academic, recreational, and social after-school activities. All RASA@RSD-related activities, events, and programs are located at Rochester School for the Deaf. Contact RASA at 585-336-5857 (voice) and 585-286-2830 (videophone) or via e-mail at RASA@rsdeaf.org
At RASA@RSD students receive tutoring, academic support, and instruction in American Sign Language (ASL), as needed. Students learn about and use the latest assistive and instructional technology. RASA@RSD students also enjoy recreation and enrichment activities.
RASA@RSD provides all students with access to tutors who work directly with them to help them complete homework, prepare for tests, and enhance academic skills. Students may also participate in recreational activities designed to build interpersonal and social skills, enhance communication skills and to cultivate friendships.
RASA@RSD is successful because students with hearing loss and their parents work together as collaborative partners with community-based youth service organizations, non-profit agencies, and other schools. They ensure that RASA provides deaf and hard-of-hearing students and their families with an enriching academic and social after-school program.
RASA@RSD can provide transportation for deaf and hard-of-hearing students who attend public schools to our location. The center is open from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. It is closed on Friday.
Contact RASA at 585-336-5857 (voice) and 585-286-2830 (videophone) or via e-mail at RASA@rsdeaf.org
 RASA@RSD Staff
Katie E. Fernaays
Katie Fernaays is coordinator of the Rochester After School Academy at RSD. She manages the only after school program in Rochester and Monroe County designed specifically for school-age children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. Katie supervises tutoring services and recreational programs for students with hearing loss who attend RASA from public schools in the Rochester area as well as RSD. Katie holds an undergraduate degree from Gannon University and a graduate degree from RIT/NTID.
 Mitchell Bacot
A proud Christian, father and husband, Mitchell Bacot currently resides in Rochester, NY. Though Rochester is now his new home, he’ll always fondly remember the small town in Pennsylvania where he grew up. That town also has a humorous slogan: "Landenberg, PA - You can't get there from here." Mitchell holds two degrees from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) - a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics and a Master of Science in Secondary Education of Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). Mitchell enjoys his tutoring position at RASA @ RSD as well as his teaching position at RIT/NTID.
 Brenda Buckley
Brenda is a Bachelor of Arts graduate from Keuka College with a dual major in ASL and Visual and Verbal Arts with an emphasis on Computer Application. She completed her graduate studies at Rochester Institute of Technology and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf where she received her Master of Science in Secondary Education of Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. Currently, Brenda works at John Marshall High School where she teaches ASL to 9th-12th graders.
 Amanda Hilleque
Amanda Hilleque arrived in Rochester by way of New Mexico and Washington D.C., trading steady sunshine for occasional sunny breaks. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Graphic Design from Gallaudet University and a Masters degree in Art Education from University of New Mexico. Amanda has taught individuals of all ages, from kindergarteners to adults. Outside of work, Amanda is an artist and a chef. She enjoys reading, outdoor activities, gardening and playing with her two dogs.
 Andrea McNeill
A native of Irondequoit, NY, Andrea McNeill attended Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Photographic Communications and her Master of Science degree in Graphic Arts, Publishing. While at RIT, Andrea also pursued a second graduate degree, the Master of Science in Secondary Education of Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing program at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in 2006. She has been a professor and academic advisor at RIT since 2001.
 Terri Mertz
A native of Rochester, NY, and a long-time Town of Greece resident, Terri Mertz earned her Associate Degree in Business Technologies from Rochester Institute of Technology and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (RIT/NTID), her Bachelor of Science in Community and Human Services at Empire State College, and her Master of Science in Secondary Education of Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing at RIT/NTID. Terri is currently Coordinator of the Signs for All Program at Rochester School for the Deaf. Prior to that, she was employed at Monroe BOCES #1 and taught American Sign Language classes to Middle and High School students at various school districts in Monroe County.
 William Mills (Billy)
Billy was raised orally in Syracuse, NY, until he was 8 years old. Then, he was transferred to and graduated from St. Mary’s School for the Deaf in Buffalo, NY. Billy began working in 1965 at the Syracuse post office, and he was, at that time, the first deaf postal employee in Eastern New York State. He was promoted three different times until he retired from the United States Postal Service in December of 1999.
 Kathy Wright
A resident of Charlotte, N.Y., Kathy Wright received her Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work from SUNY Brockport and her Master of Science degree in Special Education from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY. Kathy is an instructor at Rochester School for the Deaf (RSD) in the High School Department. She teaches math and technology in RSD’s alternate program, in Rochester Institute of Technology’s Project Fast Forward program, and is one of RSD’s Teachers of the Deaf (TOD) at Monroe BOCES #1. Previously, Kathy coordinated the RSD Outreach Center’s PRIDE program for eleven years.
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