Clarke School for the Deaf, now Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech, put Northampton on the map 150 years ago when it opened its doors to teach children with hearing loss how to listen and talk.
Families came here from long distances to enroll their children in an innovative program that provided them a top-notch educational opportunity.
Aiming to give its students their best chance at success in society, Clarke worked to integrate them into public school classrooms, trained teachers and expanded its influence far beyond our community.
We’re proud that Northampton is the hub of what has grown to include campuses in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Jacksonville, Florida serving 1,200 children.
In one of several events planned to mark Clarke’s 150 birthday, Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz on Sept. 30 read a proclamation reminding the community of the institution’s importance: “I encourage all residents to recognize the valuable contributions of Clarke Schools to our city, country and the world.”
Clarke was founded in 1867 by philanthropist John Clarke and Gardiner Green Hubbard, whose daughter, Mabel, became deaf at age 4 following a bout with scarlet fever. Hubbard hired a teacher to work with Mabel on her speech and language and when he saw that at age 10 she did as well in the classroom as any of her hearing peers, he was determined to help other children achieve similar success.
Clarke Schools’ approach is not the only way to educate those who cannot hear, and other methods have strong support, but early on, the school decided its mission would be to encourage speech-based communication, with mainstreaming as its goal. It has never wavered.
Building on the opportunities provided by the latest technology such as cochlear implants, newborn screening and integrated preschool programs, Clarke has been able to prepare students to attend their neighborhood schools as early as kindergarten, and then offer them support through high school.
In the Pioneer Valley, Clarke works closely with Leeds Elementary School in Northampton and Hampshire Regional High School in Westhampton to integrate its students as soon as they are ready.
One young woman who spoke at the Sept. 30 event is Emma O’Neill-Dietel, a first-year English major at Smith College in Northampton. She got her start at Clarke’s preschool in Philadelphia and then moved into a traditional elementary school.
At first, O’Neill-Dietel said, she felt overwhelmed, but Clarke staff stepped in to help her teachers understand what she needed. “Clarke has been with me every step of the way,” she said.
Clarke has taken advantage of advancing technology. Marian Hartblay, the director of early childhood services, said she has seen a “small revolution” in hearing loss education during the 25 years that she has taught at Clarke. Cochlear implants and new hearing aid technologies now provide more options.
“The outcomes for children are now more amazing than ever,” Hartblay said. “Clarke’s work is to seek possibilities for children who are deaf and hard of hearing.”
The school also has been ready with support for parents. One family attending the ceremony has two children who have loss of hearing and two who do not. All four, though, attended an integrated Clarke preschool.
Their father, Patrick Manseau, said Clarke was instrumental in helping his family move on from the initial fear and anxiety when their first daughter was born with a misshapen cochlea. “The Clarke School helped our family learn that hearing loss isn’t bad or good, it just is.”
Congratulations to Clarke for helping so many families over 150 years to see it that way.