Indiana School for the Deaf


Indiana School for the Deaf is a fully accredited school for the deaf and hard of hearing, located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It won the best deaf school in America in 2011 and 2014

History

When the first school for the Deaf was established in Indiana, it was named Willard School, after the founder, William Willard.
William Willard was a deaf teacher who taught at Ohio School for the Deaf in Columbus, Ohio. He traveled to Indianapolis in May 1843 to propose the establishment of a Deaf School. Once he had the support of the General Assembly, he recruited approximately twelve students. He and his wife, Eliza, were teachers. Eventually, the school had grown and a law which was passed in January 1846, officially established the Willard School as the sixth state school for the Deaf and the first Deaf school to provide free education to Deaf and hard of hearing students. The school had actually moved a few times in different locations, when finally, the school was built on an property on East 42nd Street. The name was changed to Indiana School for the Deaf. The school's main buildings on the current campus were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

Academics

ISD offers several programs ranging from infants to high school. They are as follows: Parent Infant Program, Preschool, Elementary, Middle School, and High School.
The Parent Infant Program works closely with parents and their deaf or hard of hearing children from ages 0 to 3. When a student reaches 18 months of age, he or she can enroll at ISD as an official student. Preschool handles children up until Pre-Kindergarten. Elementary provides academics and activities for Kindergarten through 4thgrade students. Middle school hosts grades 5 to 8, and High School hosts grades 9 through 12.

Residency

ISD is also a residential school. It has dormitories where students reside throughout the week. Students arrive on Sundays and depart on Fridays. Dormitories are for students who live far enough not to be able to travel by bus every day to school. There are dormitories for male and female students: Preschool, Elementary, Middle School, and High School. ISD's residential programs offers extracurricular activities, peer interaction, student growth and development, achievement, and more.

Athletics

ISD offers several athletics starting from 5th grade to 12th grade. There are sports for both female and male students.