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Kentucky School for the Deaf

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Type
  
Public

Principal
  
Will Begley

Grades
  
K-12

Phone
  
+1 859-239-7017

Founded
  
10 April 1823

Established
  
April 10, 1823

Faculty
  
45

Enrollment
  
110

Mascot
  
Colonels

Kentucky School for the Deaf

Address
  
303 S 2nd St, Danville, KY 40422, USA

District
  
Kentucky School For The Deaf

Similar
  
Danville High School, Boyle County Middle Sc, Jennie Rogers Elementa, Boyle County High Sch, Bate Middle School

Profiles

Kentucky school for the deaf deafbing


The Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD), located in Danville, Kentucky, United States, is a school that provides education to deaf and hard-of-hearing children from elementary through high school levels.

Contents

Kentucky school for the deaf in danville kentucky


History

KSD was established as the Kentucky Asylum for the Tuition of the Deaf and Dumb on April 10, 1823. It was the first state-supported school of its kind in the United States and the first school for the deaf west of the Allegheny Mountains. The deaf were a special concern of General Elias Barbee, a Kentucky state senator, whose daughter was deaf. In 1822 Barbee and John Rowan wrote legislation authorizing the creation of the school. On December 7, 1822 it was signed into law by Kentucky Governor John Adair. With the help of Henry Clay, KSD received two federal land grants in 1826 and 1836. This land in Florida and Arkansas was eventually sold to finance the construction of school facilities.

In the early years it was thought that the Kentucky school might be able to meet the educational needs of all deaf people in the southern and western United States. Pupils from all the southern states except Florida, and from as far away as Montana, attended KSD. Eventually, other states established their own schools for deaf students.

Governance

The Centre College Board of Trustees operated the school until 1870. It was then governed by its own board of commissioners. Since 1960 the Kentucky Board of Education and Department of Education have governed the school.

Many of the officers and teachers at KSD have had long tenures. George M. McClure was associated with the school for eighty years as both pupil and teacher. The school has had fourteen superintendents since its inception. The Rev. John Rice Kerr, the first superintendent, and John Adamson Jacobs, the third superintendent, are credited with nurturing the school from its infancy. Jacobs began his work in 1825, became superintendent in 1835, and held that office until his death in 1869.

Facilities

KSD lies on 166 acres (67 ha) near the center of Danville. Buildings on the campus are listed below. It has been proposed that the campus be reduced to 50 acres (20 ha), demolishing or selling several of the buildings.

  • Argo-McClure Hall (1964) - technology classes for elementary, middle and high school
  • Barbee Hall (1966) - currently empty middle school girls' dormitory
  • Beauchamp Hall (1966) - currently empty middle school boys' dormitory
  • Brady Hall (1981) - high school boys', middle school boys' and elementary boys' dormitory and offices
  • Bruce Hall (1966) - currently empty middle school girls' dormitory
  • Fosdick Hall (1966) - currently empty middle school boys' dormitory
  • Grow Hall (1968) - food service/cafeteria
  • Jacobs Hall (1857) - KSD's oldest surviving building; it is listed as a National Historic Landmark and contains a re-creation of a student dormitory and classroom from the 1850s
  • Kerr Hall (1976) - high school, middle school and elementary school classes
  • Lee Hall (1958) - formerly used as girls' vocational classes and middle school classes
  • Middleton Hall (1979) - high school girls', middle school girls' and elementary girls' dormitory and offices
  • Thomas Hall (1973) - gymnasium, student grille, swimming pool, and athletic offices
  • Walker Hall (1971) - formerly used as elementary school and elementary boys's and girls' dormitory
  • Master plan

    A task force was established in 2004 to create a master plan for KSD. They recommended:

  • Reducing the number of buildings from 17 to seven
  • The new campus would contain Argo-McClure, Brady, Jacobs, Kerr, Middleton, and Thomas halls, and a new elementary school to be built at a cost of $6.5 million.
  • Demolishing Beauchamp, Fosdick, and Grow halls
  • Campus buildings outside the master plan area were Barbee, Bruce, Lee, Rogers, and Walker halls, the laundry and power plant, and the engineer's residence.
  • Reducing the land from 170 acres (0.69 km2) to 62
  • Selling land outside the master plan area, and using the proceeds to fund future campus needs
  • Athletics

    The school's mascot is the Colonel. Athletic teams have enjoyed moderate success. They have won at least one high school eight-man football championship in fall 1999. In 2007 they won the National Boys Soccer Championship and became a 12th Region contender in boys' basketball. KSD currently participates in the following sports:

  • Volleyball
  • Girls' cross country
  • Boys' cross country
  • Girls' basketball
  • Boys' basketball
  • Track and field
  • References

    Kentucky School for the Deaf Wikipedia