The Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, located in Staunton, Virginia

Staunton, Virginia

Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....

, USA, is an institution for educating deaf and blind children, first established in 1839 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly

Virginia General Assembly

The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...

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History

The Virginia School for the Deaf was first opened in Staunton by the State of Virginia in 1839. 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. Graduates of the Staunton school include William C. Ritter, who went on the found the Virginia School for the Deaf in Hampton, Edward C. Carney, who worked at the National Association of the Deaf in the late 1970s, and Thomas McCreery who was the publisher of the Backhannon Banner.

Campus consolidation

In June of 2008, the two branches of the Virginia School for the Deaf (Staunton and Hampton) were consolidated into one school.

External links

• Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind