Indiana School for the Deaf (ISD) is a fully accredited school for the deaf and hard of hearing, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.
History
Indiana Institution for the Education of the Deaf, c. 1903
When the first school for the Deaf was established in Indiana, it was named Willard School, after its founder, William Willard.[4]
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 grew and a law which was passed in January 1846 officially establishing 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 moved a few times to different locations, until facilities were built on an 80-acre (32 ha) 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.[5]
New campus
In spring 2022, the state of Indiana announced that the Indiana School for the Deaf will move to the campus of the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in the 7700 block of North College Avenue in Indianapolis. About $225 million will be spent on new and renovated facilities for the two schools. They will remain separate institutions, but will be able to share some resources.[6][7][8][9]
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 4th grade students. Middle school hosts grades 5 to 8, and High School hosts grades 9 through 12.
Residency
ISD is also a residential school for ages 3 to 21.[10] 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 offer extracurricular activities, peer interaction, student growth and development, achievement, and more.
Athletics
ISD offers several athletics starting from 5th grade to 12th grade. The athletic teams are named the Hoosier Orioles. There are sports for both female and male students.[11]
^Gannon, Jack. 1981. Deaf Heritage–A Narrative History of Deaf America, Silver Spring, MD: National Association of the Deaf, p. 23 (PDFArchived March 28, 2012, at the Wayback Machine)
