Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Rochester School for the Deaf

Assembly Resolution No. 1483

BY: M. of A. Clark

        COMMEMORATING   the   150th   Anniversary  of  the
        Rochester School for the Deaf

  WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize  and
commemorate  those  enduring institutions whose commitment to education,
service, and community enrichment has contributed significantly  to  the
quality of life in the State of New York; and

  WHEREAS,  Attendant  to  such  concern,  and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this  Legislative  Body  is  justly  proud  to
commemorate  the 150th Anniversary of the Rochester School for the Deaf,
to be celebrated with a Gala on Saturday, October 24, 2026; and

  WHEREAS, Founded on February 3, 1876,  and  opened  to  students  on
October  4,  1876,  the  Rochester  School  for  the Deaf was originally
established under the name Western New York Institution for Deaf  Mutes;
in  April  of  1920,  the  institution  officially  became  known as the
Rochester School for the Deaf; and

  WHEREAS, Located at 1545 St. Paul Street in Rochester, New York, the
Rochester School for the Deaf is a private, tuition-free school  serving
deaf  and  hard-of-hearing  students  from pre-kindergarten through 12th
grade, and stands today as one of the oldest and most respected  schools
of its kind in the United States; and

  WHEREAS, The origins of the Rochester School for the Deaf are deeply
rooted  in the compassion and vision of the Perkins family, particularly
Mr. and Mrs. Gilman Perkins, whose  concern  for  their  deaf  daughter,
Carolyn,  and  for  other  children  in  the community with hearing loss
inspired the establishment of the school; and

  WHEREAS, Through the efforts of Zenas Westervelt, then a teacher  at
the   Maryland   School   for   the   Deaf,   who  identified  deaf  and
hard-of-hearing children throughout Western New York who  lacked  access
to education, and with the encouragement and support of Mrs. Perkins and
other   civic-minded   citizens,  the  school  was  founded  to  provide
educational opportunities to children who had long been underserved; and

  WHEREAS, After initially operating in downtown Rochester, the school
relocated in 1878 to its present campus on the east bank of the  Genesee
River,  where it has remained a cornerstone of deaf education for nearly
a century and a half; and

  WHEREAS, From its earliest years, the Rochester School for the  Deaf
established   itself   as   a   pioneer   in   educational   innovation;
Superintendent  Zenas  Westervelt  developed  the  "Rochester   Method,"
combining  the  manual  alphabet  with  speech  to  strengthen students'
engagement with the English language; and

  WHEREAS, Further advancing the field of deaf education, Edmund Lyon,
a friend of the Perkins family, developed the Lyon  Phonetic  System,  a
manual phonetic finger alphabet representing the sounds of speech, which

was  unveiled  in  1891 before what is now known as the Alexander Graham
Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; and

  WHEREAS,  Today,  the  Rochester School for the Deaf serves students
from a 21-county region of New York  State  and  provides  comprehensive
educational  services  for  deaf and hard-of-hearing children from birth
through age 21, including an Early Childhood Center, K-12  Regents-level
academic  instruction,  residential  life  programming,  athletics,  and
family support services; and

  WHEREAS, Committed to academic  excellence  and  accessibility,  the
Rochester  School  for  the  Deaf provides bilingual instruction in both
American  Sign  Language   and   English,   maintains   an   approximate
student-to-teacher  ratio  of  5:1,  and  serves  a diverse student body
representing a broad spectrum of racial and ethnic backgrounds; and

  WHEREAS, Through programs such as Signs for All, the school  extends
its  mission  beyond  the  classroom  by offering American Sign Language
instruction and outreach opportunities to families and  members  of  the
broader community; and

  WHEREAS,  The  school's sesquicentennial celebration will include an
Anniversary Gala on Saturday, October 24, 2026,  at  the  Hyatt  Regency
Rochester,  as  well  as  an  Alumni Reunion on October 23-24, featuring
campus archive tours, alumni events,  class  photographs,  and  athletic
activities celebrating generations of students, faculty, and staff; and

  WHEREAS,   Furthermore,   the   school's   150th   Anniversary  logo
prominently features Perkins Hall, the  first  building  constructed  on
campus,  which  remains  an  enduring  symbol  of  home,  heritage,  and
community for countless alumni and educators; and

  WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to  recognize  and
applaud   those  institutions  whose  enduring  legacy  of  service  has
strengthened the educational, cultural, and civic fabric of the State of
New York; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
commemorate  the  150th Anniversary of the Rochester School for the Deaf
and  to  honor  its  extraordinary  legacy  of  educational  leadership,
innovation,  and  service  to  deaf  and  hard-of-hearing  children  and
families throughout New York State; and be it further

  RESOLVED, That a copy of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted to the Rochester School for the Deaf.