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California School for the Deaf celebrates 150 years - Inside Bay Area
MORE THAN 4,000 PEOPLE are expected to descend upon California School for the Deaf this homecoming weekend to celebrate the institution's 150th anniversary.
Scheduled activities today include a school pep rally with former 49er star Ronnie Lott and an athletic hall of fame ceremony and dinner.
On Saturday, the public is invited to watch a 150th anniversary parade at noon, plus the cross-country, volleyball and football homecoming games. There also will be a banquet and dance that evening for those with tickets.
On Sunday, alumni will gather for class reunions.
What started as a three-pupil school in San Francisco in May 1860 has grown into an institution annually serving about 480 students from preschool through grade 12 on its Fremont campus. It also offers early intervention through its infant program.
After opening in 1860, California School for the Deaf moved to UC Berkeley in 1869. In 1980, the school relocated to Fremont after it was discovered that the Hayward fault line ran under the Berkeley campus.
While the school's address, building designs and technology have changed, no change has impressed Superintendent Henry Klopping more than the school's shift from a predominantly hearing staff to one that is primarily deaf.
When he became superintendent 35 years ago, Klopping said, the high school principal was the only deaf administrator.
Today, about 90 percent of the administration is deaf. Similarly, about 25 percent of teachers were deaf or hard-of-hearing when he arrived, compared with 75 percent today.
"Deaf people have assumed a greater administrative role. "... It's my belief that deaf people are better at serving as role models and leaders for programs for the deaf," said Klopping, who can hear. "Deaf people need to see successful deaf adults that they can model themselves after."
In 2006, students and staff rejoiced when a 1948 graduate of the school, Robert Davila, was named president of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., the world's leading liberal arts university for deaf people.
Another alumnus, Kenneth Norton of the class of 1945, became the school's first deaf dean of students — a position he held from 1975 to 1990.
"The facilities and atmosphere at the Fremont school is far better than the Berkeley school, but there are two things I miss. ... They are the grand dining hall with elegant chandeliers that looked like a palace, and the football field with the great view of the San Francisco Bay. I dare say the football field above the school campus (was) the most beautiful field in the nation, if not the world," Norton wrote in an e-mail.
While the move to Fremont was borne of necessity, the relocation may have given the school an opportunity to help grow — directly or indirectly — other deaf programs at other academic institutions.
Ohlone College, which serves Tri-City residents, has one of the largest deaf programs at a community college. Not only do deaf students go there to continue their education, but a number of hearing students enroll in the program to learn to work with deaf people, Klopping said.
"California School for the Deaf has a wonderful history, a wonderful reputation," Klopping said. "The state of California can really be proud of the fact that our school has achieved the things that we have achieved."
Famous alumni
California School for the Deaf's Northern California campus has graduated about 11,000 to 12,000 students since 1860, according to Superintendent Henry Klopping. Here are the names of some famous alumni.
Don Lyons (professional basketball player)
Robert Davila (Gallaudet University president)
Julianna Fjeld (co-executive producer of Emmy-winning drama)
Julian (Buddy) Singleton (California Department of Education Achievement Award and Teacher of the Year Award, 1985)
Shoshannah Stern (actress)
George Attletweed (first deaf person on California State Advisory Commission)
Michael Davis (actor)
Leo Jacobs (author)
T. J. O'Rourke (publisher)
Douglas Tilden (sculptor)
Joel Barish (DeafNation CEO)
Ella Mae Lentz (co-author of most popular American Sign Language curriculum series)
Mark Wood (executive film producer)
Granville Redmond (painter)
Paul Wood (professional cyclist)
MORE THAN 4,000 PEOPLE are expected to descend upon California School for the Deaf this homecoming weekend to celebrate the institution's 150th anniversary.
Scheduled activities today include a school pep rally with former 49er star Ronnie Lott and an athletic hall of fame ceremony and dinner.
On Saturday, the public is invited to watch a 150th anniversary parade at noon, plus the cross-country, volleyball and football homecoming games. There also will be a banquet and dance that evening for those with tickets.
On Sunday, alumni will gather for class reunions.
What started as a three-pupil school in San Francisco in May 1860 has grown into an institution annually serving about 480 students from preschool through grade 12 on its Fremont campus. It also offers early intervention through its infant program.
After opening in 1860, California School for the Deaf moved to UC Berkeley in 1869. In 1980, the school relocated to Fremont after it was discovered that the Hayward fault line ran under the Berkeley campus.
While the school's address, building designs and technology have changed, no change has impressed Superintendent Henry Klopping more than the school's shift from a predominantly hearing staff to one that is primarily deaf.
When he became superintendent 35 years ago, Klopping said, the high school principal was the only deaf administrator.
Today, about 90 percent of the administration is deaf. Similarly, about 25 percent of teachers were deaf or hard-of-hearing when he arrived, compared with 75 percent today.
"Deaf people have assumed a greater administrative role. "... It's my belief that deaf people are better at serving as role models and leaders for programs for the deaf," said Klopping, who can hear. "Deaf people need to see successful deaf adults that they can model themselves after."
In 2006, students and staff rejoiced when a 1948 graduate of the school, Robert Davila, was named president of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., the world's leading liberal arts university for deaf people.
Another alumnus, Kenneth Norton of the class of 1945, became the school's first deaf dean of students — a position he held from 1975 to 1990.
"The facilities and atmosphere at the Fremont school is far better than the Berkeley school, but there are two things I miss. ... They are the grand dining hall with elegant chandeliers that looked like a palace, and the football field with the great view of the San Francisco Bay. I dare say the football field above the school campus (was) the most beautiful field in the nation, if not the world," Norton wrote in an e-mail.
While the move to Fremont was borne of necessity, the relocation may have given the school an opportunity to help grow — directly or indirectly — other deaf programs at other academic institutions.
Ohlone College, which serves Tri-City residents, has one of the largest deaf programs at a community college. Not only do deaf students go there to continue their education, but a number of hearing students enroll in the program to learn to work with deaf people, Klopping said.
"California School for the Deaf has a wonderful history, a wonderful reputation," Klopping said. "The state of California can really be proud of the fact that our school has achieved the things that we have achieved."
Famous alumni
California School for the Deaf's Northern California campus has graduated about 11,000 to 12,000 students since 1860, according to Superintendent Henry Klopping. Here are the names of some famous alumni.
Don Lyons (professional basketball player)
Robert Davila (Gallaudet University president)
Julianna Fjeld (co-executive producer of Emmy-winning drama)
Julian (Buddy) Singleton (California Department of Education Achievement Award and Teacher of the Year Award, 1985)
Shoshannah Stern (actress)
George Attletweed (first deaf person on California State Advisory Commission)
Michael Davis (actor)
Leo Jacobs (author)
T. J. O'Rourke (publisher)
Douglas Tilden (sculptor)
Joel Barish (DeafNation CEO)
Ella Mae Lentz (co-author of most popular American Sign Language curriculum series)
Mark Wood (executive film producer)
Granville Redmond (painter)
Paul Wood (professional cyclist)
