DANVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) — Education is an important part of succeeding in life but it can be hard for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. That’s why one school in Danville helps provide a second home for the deaf and has been doing so for a very long time.
The Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD) is the first state-supported school of its kind in the United States and the first school for the deaf west of the Allegheny Mountains. Just last year, KSD celebrated 200 years of education.
KSD’s principal, Lynn Petrey, said, “It’s pretty special knowing that everybody and every community is a neighbor of ours and just being able to immerse those students within deaf culture, making them feel prideful about themselves and what they represent, that’s my main goal, main purpose is to let each one of our students know how special they are and that they belong, and that there’s opportunities for anybody that comes after high school.”
The historic school opened in 1823 with the mission to provide a quality education for any and all students who are deaf or hard of hearing. From preschool to high school, they offer classes for students at all levels, but it’s not just about the learning inside the classroom. Every day the staff at KSD work hard to expose students to what life will be like outside of the classroom; the end goal being to set up their students for a successful life and career after they’re gone.
Scott Haun, president of the KSD charitable foundation, said, “It’s a very important asset. Imagine the student if you will, scattered throughout the state. There might be one or two students that go into a mainstream classroom or a regular public ed room, and they’ll have an interpreter that follows them around all day long. Here we do without the interpreters, the students are able to communicate with the teacher, with the staff, with the principal, with their friends that are in the classroom with them. They’re able to have a rich language environment, and this ends up becoming their second home.”
Staff said they teach students from Paducah to Pikeville, which is one reason why students have the opportunity to live here as a part of KSD’s residential program.
The school is also open for planned visits and tours of Jacobs Hall, the school’s original building, which is now a museum.