Delaware School for the Deaf

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1 History
2 Athletics
3 The Mission
4 Notes

[edit] History

Delaware School for the Deaf history began in 1929 in Wilmington, Delaware. The founder, Margaret S. Sterck decided to become teacher to deaf children in her own home on Van Buren Street in city of Wilmington. Sterck teaching education to deaf children until 1945. After that, all deaf children was forced to transfer to other school; some of them go to special deaf program at school in Delaware. Some of them went to other school for the deaf in other state, Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (PSD). Until 1960s, PSD doesn't have any more room for deaf children from Delaware and it was concerned to parent of deaf children. Between 1960 to 1968, State Board of Education saving up money and discussing about locating new building for school for the deaf. There is major percent of deaf children in northern part of Delaware, so they decided to located it in Newark, Delaware. Finally, in 1968; school for deaf was building and complete, open to public in 1969. School for the Deaf was dedicated in honor of Margaret S. Sterck, but changed name of school until late 1990s to Delaware School for the Deaf. ^[1]

[edit] Athletics

Delaware School for the Deaf is member of Eastern School for the Deaf Athletic Association (ESDAA.)^[2] Since 1996, one of their three sports team entered ESDAA championship at least once every year until their last one in 2007. They had appeared seventeen times in ESDAA championship games and won ten of them. Boy's Basketball won twice in 1996 & 1998. Girl's Basketball went took three straight titles in 2003, 2004 & 2005. The Girl's Volleyball took the most titles than other sports in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004 & 2005 and they has appeared in ESDAA championship games every year since 1999 until their last one in 2007. Delaware School for the Deaf's mascot is Blue Hawks and school's colors is royal blue and white.

[edit] The Mission

The mission of the Delaware School for the Deaf, a program serving deaf and hard of hearing students birth through twenty-one years of age, is to educate students with rigorous achievement standards, to develop their linguistic competence in both ASL and English, and to prepare them to be contributing citizens, by providing access to language and information in a safe and supportive learning environment.