WRSD was founded in 1967 by a group of parents whose children had been deafened in the rubella epidemic of 1964-65. The founders wanted their children to have the benefits of a day school experience, rather than the attending a residential schools of the time. Over the past 40 years, Willie Ross School for the Deaf has evolved into an innovative two-campus model, providing both center-based and mainstreaming opportunities. The model has flourished as it has evolved over the forty years since the school's founding. The campuses serve the increasingly diverse needs of deaf and hard-of hearing children and students from infancy to the age of twenty-two.
The increasing needs of children and students with a hearing loss have resulted in the need to enhance WRSD's campuses. Advances in technology, amplification, and special needs have required WRSD to examine its instructional environments and their capacity to continue to meet these developing needs. The Willie Ross School for the Deaf's Campus Enhancement Project is designed to respond to its commitment to meeting the needs of all of its students.
Anticipated total expense for these projects is $450,895. The cost includes:
• All new energy efficient windows for the Founders Classroom Building
• The acquisition and development of new property
• Exterior campus improvements including a new outdoor fitness center
• A new playground for younger children
• Campus beautification
• New exterior doors and awning
• Interior renovations to the Founders Classroom Building for related services such as speech and language therapy
• New fencing
• Tree removal
• New plantings
• Basketball court
Gifts to the Longmeadow Campus Enhancement Project may be sent directly to:Willie Ross School for the Deaf, 32 Norway St., Longmeadow, MA 01106
Gifts may be made to the campaign in general or to specific elements of the overall project.
Naming opportunities exist for all of the aspects of the project. Please indicate your interest with your gift.
