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Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind

Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind
Entrance, Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind.jpg
Entrance to the school
Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind is located in Virginia
Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind
Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind is located in the US
Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind
Location E. Beverley St. and Pleasant Ter., Staunton, Virginia
Coordinates 38°9′1.6″N 79°3′50.4″W / 38.150444°N 79.064000°W / 38.150444; -79.064000Coordinates: 38°9′1.6″N 79°3′50.4″W / 38.150444°N 79.064000°W / 38.150444; -79.064000
Area 100 acres (40 ha)
Built 1846
Built by William Donoho
Architect Robert Cary Long, Jr.
NRHP Reference # 69000361
VLR # 132-0008
Significant dates
Added to NRHP November 12, 1969
Designated VLR September 9, 1969

The Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, located in Staunton, Virginia, United States, is an institution for educating deaf and blind children, first established in 1839 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly. The school accepts children aged between 2 and 22 and provides residential accommodation for those students aged 5 and over who live outside a 35-mile radius of the school

The Virginia Institution for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind, as it was originally named, was first opened in Staunton by the State of Virginia in 1839. It was fully co-educational from the time of its founding although it only accepted white students. The first superintendent was Joseph D. Tyler, who was paid a salary of $1200 per year. The first teacher hired was named Job Turner, who served the school for 40 years. J. C. M. Merrillat was a native of Bordeaux, France, who served as the first principal of the Blind Department. He became superintendent of both the Deaf and Blind departments in 1852. His nearby residence, the J. C. M. Merrillat House, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

During the American Civil War, the school's Main Hall was used as a hospital by Confederate troops, and several staff members served as doctors or nurses. The school now houses a Deaf History Museum on its grounds.

In the early 1970s the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) required the state of Virginia to come up with a plan to desegregate VSDB and the state school for black deaf and blind students in Hampton, Virginia. The Commonwealth developed a plan to do so in 1974, which was deemed acceptable by HEW.

In 2009, the General Assembly declared the school independent of the Virginia Department of Education with its own board of visitors.

The Blind Department uses a range of technology to ensure students academic and social development. It teaches the reading and writing of Braille, as well as life and social skills, self-advocacy and mobility skills, alongside traditional academic subjects


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