Central North Carolina School for the Deaf was a PreK-8 school for deaf children operated by the State of North Carolina, located in Greensboro.
It served nineteen counties in the state, with the area including Durham and Winston-Salem.[1]
It was operated by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.[2]
History
editIt was established in 1975.[3] The number of deaf children had exploded in the state due to an epidemic of rubella in the late 1950s and early 1960s.[4]
It opened in the summer in temporary facilities in Raleigh with 175 students up to grade 6. It was to move to Greensboro in the fall.[5]
By 1995 the school was already using American sign language as its predominant language of communication while the North Carolina School for the Deaf and the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf had not fully transitioned into using ASL.[6]
In 1995 North Carolina officials were considering closing the school due to its small size, something opposed by members of the community. The student population decreased as public schools operated by school districts began accommodating deaf children in mainstreaming programs, and the 1950s/1960s rubella wave children were now adults.[4]
Susan Sein was acting director until 2000, when she moved to a job at the Texas School for the Deaf. Dr. Henry Widmer replaced her.[7]
In 2000 auditors for the state recommended it close one of the three schools for the deaf as the population declined further.[8] The state chose Central NC to close, effective spring 2001.[1]
Student body
editIn 1995 there were 92 students, with 78 in grades K-8 and 14 in preschool. 56 were boarding students. 80% of them had families 50 miles (80 km) or fewer from the school.[4] In 2000 it had 78 students.[8] In 2001 it was down to 29 students with 11 boarders. In 2000 there were over 50 employees.[1]
Campus
editThe dormitories had a capacity of about 180.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c Buchanan, Bruce (2001-03-06). "CENTRAL SCHOOL FOR DEAF TO CLOSE\ THE GREENSBORO CAMPUS WILL BE CONVERTED INTO A SCHOOL FOR EMOTIONALLY, NEUROLOGICALLY AND MENTALLY TROUBLED CHILDREN". News & Record. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
- ^ "NC DHHS -- Issue: Educating Children and Youth". Archived from the original on 2000-12-06. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). saveourdeafschools.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b c Simmons, Tim (1995-02-12). "Voices unite in fight to save school for deaf". The News & Observer. pp. 1A, 6A. - Clipping of first and of second page, Newspapers.com.
- ^ Carver, Ven (1975-06-01). "Special Attachment Enables Deaf People To Use Phone". High Point Tribune. p. 1D. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Greensboro campus uses hotly debated American Sign Language". The News & Observer. 1995-02-12. p. 6A. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Acting director named at deaf school". Asheville Citizen-Times. Asheville, North Carolina. Associated Press. 2000-07-12. p. B4. - Clipping at Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Close one or 2 schools for deaf, auditor says". Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. Associated Press. 2000-04-14. p. 5B. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.