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Clarke School solicits proposals for nearly all its remaining campus | masslive.com
The Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech is listing nearly all that remains of its once sprawling campus here with a large regional land broker.
Clarke, founded in 1867 and once predominantly a boarding school, now operates from five campuses across the nation. The school cites the strides made in technology, including cochlear implants, and a changing dynamic in how educational services are provided to the deaf and hard-of-hearing as the reasons for its planned downsizing.
“There’s not the same kind of need for the same kind of physical structure we’ve had historically,” said Clarke president William J. Corwin on Monday.
The property up to sale includes nearly 12 acres, a gymnasium with an Olympic-size pool and nine other buildings.
The property was listed for sale a week ago with a “request for proposals” via the Boston-based LandVest, an affiliate of Christie’s. A map and an accompanying description are available on the real estate firm’s website.
Clarke is selling a total of 11.7 acres of property, including 8.02 acres on the west side of Round Hill Road and 3.68 on the east side. The only building outside the boundaries of the map is Alexander G. Bell Hall, which was built in the 1970s as a dormitory for older students and is the newest building on campus.
The buildings listed for sale are Hubbard Hall, named for the school’s founder, Gardiner Green Hubbard, and Rogers Hall, both located on the east side of Round Hill Road. Gawith, Coolidge and Skinner halls on the opposite side of the street are also being offered, along with Galbraith Gym, Adams House, the building that houses the boilers and the cottage where the supervisor of the physical plant lives. In addition, there is a garage for sale.
Despite the fact that nearly all of the sprawling campus is up for grabs, Corwin emphasized that the historic school, the country’s first school to teach deaf children using “oral education” – using speech rather than sign language – methods, will maintain a presence on Round Hill Road. Rather, he said, the downsizing reflect profound changes in the treatment of the deaf.
For more than a century, Clarke was predominantly a boarding school for students from kindergarten through high school. It was not uncommon for families to move to Northampton so that their children could attend Clarke.
Over the last decade to 15 years, however, advancements in technology and in the screening of newborns for hearing impairments have resulted in better services for the deaf at an earlier age. Cochlear implants afford all but the most severely impaired a significant degree of hearing. As a result, Corwin said, most are now able to remain in the mainstream, where Clarke reaches out to them.
“The vast majority of kids we serve as an organization are going to be under 7,” he said. “Most of them are mainstreamed at (ages) 4 to 6. There’s no way people would have imagined 20 years ago that you’d have profoundly deaf kids talking on cell phones, playing the violin and learning in the mainstream. There’s nothing they can’t do at this point.”
Although Clarke serves more than 700 students a year out of the Round Hill Road facility, there are only eight boarding students, Corwin said. He expects the school will continue to accept boarders.
“There are no plans to close the residential program,” he said.
Clarke provides a school-day program for children and early intervention programs for children from birth to age 3. It also provides hearing evaluations, audiological services and other specialized programs.
According to Corwin, Bell Hall already hosts a number of the school’s main programs. Clarke may decide to keep other buildings included in the request for proposals or even rent other space in Northampton, he said.
Over the past few years, the school has already sold a number of other buildings. Magna House, once a dormitory, located on Crescent Street, has been condominiums for more than a decade, and several other Round Hill Road buildings once used as dormitories and the school’s infirmary were also redeveloped into condominiums.
Most recently, a Connecticut couple purchased a Gilded Age mansion, long used as the president’s house, for more than $1 million.
Clarke also has campuses in Boston, Jacksonville, New York City and Philadelphia. It also provides services for adults who are deaf and hard-of-hearing.
The Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech is listing nearly all that remains of its once sprawling campus here with a large regional land broker.
Clarke, founded in 1867 and once predominantly a boarding school, now operates from five campuses across the nation. The school cites the strides made in technology, including cochlear implants, and a changing dynamic in how educational services are provided to the deaf and hard-of-hearing as the reasons for its planned downsizing.
“There’s not the same kind of need for the same kind of physical structure we’ve had historically,” said Clarke president William J. Corwin on Monday.
The property up to sale includes nearly 12 acres, a gymnasium with an Olympic-size pool and nine other buildings.
The property was listed for sale a week ago with a “request for proposals” via the Boston-based LandVest, an affiliate of Christie’s. A map and an accompanying description are available on the real estate firm’s website.
Clarke is selling a total of 11.7 acres of property, including 8.02 acres on the west side of Round Hill Road and 3.68 on the east side. The only building outside the boundaries of the map is Alexander G. Bell Hall, which was built in the 1970s as a dormitory for older students and is the newest building on campus.
The buildings listed for sale are Hubbard Hall, named for the school’s founder, Gardiner Green Hubbard, and Rogers Hall, both located on the east side of Round Hill Road. Gawith, Coolidge and Skinner halls on the opposite side of the street are also being offered, along with Galbraith Gym, Adams House, the building that houses the boilers and the cottage where the supervisor of the physical plant lives. In addition, there is a garage for sale.
Despite the fact that nearly all of the sprawling campus is up for grabs, Corwin emphasized that the historic school, the country’s first school to teach deaf children using “oral education” – using speech rather than sign language – methods, will maintain a presence on Round Hill Road. Rather, he said, the downsizing reflect profound changes in the treatment of the deaf.
For more than a century, Clarke was predominantly a boarding school for students from kindergarten through high school. It was not uncommon for families to move to Northampton so that their children could attend Clarke.
Over the last decade to 15 years, however, advancements in technology and in the screening of newborns for hearing impairments have resulted in better services for the deaf at an earlier age. Cochlear implants afford all but the most severely impaired a significant degree of hearing. As a result, Corwin said, most are now able to remain in the mainstream, where Clarke reaches out to them.
“The vast majority of kids we serve as an organization are going to be under 7,” he said. “Most of them are mainstreamed at (ages) 4 to 6. There’s no way people would have imagined 20 years ago that you’d have profoundly deaf kids talking on cell phones, playing the violin and learning in the mainstream. There’s nothing they can’t do at this point.”
Although Clarke serves more than 700 students a year out of the Round Hill Road facility, there are only eight boarding students, Corwin said. He expects the school will continue to accept boarders.
“There are no plans to close the residential program,” he said.
Clarke provides a school-day program for children and early intervention programs for children from birth to age 3. It also provides hearing evaluations, audiological services and other specialized programs.
According to Corwin, Bell Hall already hosts a number of the school’s main programs. Clarke may decide to keep other buildings included in the request for proposals or even rent other space in Northampton, he said.
Over the past few years, the school has already sold a number of other buildings. Magna House, once a dormitory, located on Crescent Street, has been condominiums for more than a decade, and several other Round Hill Road buildings once used as dormitories and the school’s infirmary were also redeveloped into condominiums.
Most recently, a Connecticut couple purchased a Gilded Age mansion, long used as the president’s house, for more than $1 million.
Clarke also has campuses in Boston, Jacksonville, New York City and Philadelphia. It also provides services for adults who are deaf and hard-of-hearing.
