A San Diego elementary teacher is wrapping up her final lesson with a special tribute. Kelle Higgins has been teaching for 40 years. In addition to her regular coursework, she has taught the song, God Bless America in American Sign Language in honor of a former deaf student. At Kumeyaay Elementary's end-of-the-year assembly, known as the tribal meeting, her second grade students perform God Bless America. This started 22 years ago, in honor of her late student, Garrett Baumann, who was going deaf from Neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes non-cancerous tumors to take over the body, including a person’s hearing. “Ten friends got together and thought what can we do for our friend, so they learned sign language,” said Higgins. Her son, KJ wasn't going to miss this performance. He was one of Garrett's friends who originally taught Higgins' first class. He surprised his mom at the assembly and guided the class alongside his mom. MORE: https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/community/our-community/san-diego-teacher-wrapping-up-a-final-lesson-with-a-tribute-to-a-former-deaf-student/509-6c3a79e2-b658-467d-91fa-96375b9c0c87