 
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 585-336-5855 (voice or TTY) 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 585-336-5855 (voice or TTY) 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.
Mike Barrett
 A native of Chicago, Mike Barrett is a tutor/activity specialist for RASA @ RSD. He received his BS in Psychology from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in 2007. Before coming to RASA @ RSD, Mike worked as a part-time English faculty tutor at the Learning Center located at RIT's National Technical Institute of the Deaf. Mike hopes to pursue a master's degree in Deaf Education at McDaniel College in Maryland to become a Teacher of the Deaf and American Sign Language specialist. When Mike's not working at RASA @ RSD, you may find him reading novels, hanging out with his friends, or going out to discover new places and to make new friends.
Andrea McNeill
 A native of Irondequoit, NY, Andrea McNeill attended Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and received her BS degree in Biomedical Photographic Communications and her MS degree for Graphic Arts, Publishing. Andrea also pursued a second graduate degree, the Master of Science in Secondary Education of Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (MSSE) program at RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) in 2006. She has been a professor and academic advisor at RIT since 2001.
Nicole Accorso
 Nicole Accorso is a Teacher of the Deaf and ASL instructor for Greece Central Schools, in suburban Rochester. Before joining Rochester School for the Deaf (RSD) Signs for All program she worked for three years as a Signing Skills Coach for Monroe BOCES #1 and for several years at Hillside Children’s Center, in Rochester, NY. She holds two associate degrees from Monroe Community College—one in Liberal Arts and the other in Travel and Tourism. She also holds a certificate in Deaf Studies from Rochester Institute of Technology, a Bachelor’s degree in ASL from University of Rochester, and a Masters degree in Deaf Education.
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