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Willie Ross School for the Deaf in Longmeadow undergoes improvements to the playground and classroom facilities- MassLive.com
When students return to Willie Ross School for the Deaf in a few weeks they will see some changes in their classrooms and at the playground.
"The new playground equipment started going in right after our summer school program was over, so I think most of the students will be surprised," said Linda L. Carfora, the director of the Longmeadow campus of the school.
The campus is undergoing major changes including $125,000 worth of new computers and other technology in each of the classrooms as well as new playground equipment, a basketball court and more.
"This has been work in progress for many years," said the school's executive director Louis E. Abbate. Now the school is in negotiations to purchase about 37,000 square feet of land located behind the Longmeadow campus, which they hope to use as an educational tool for their students.
"A lot of our students live in the inner city and they don't have an opportunity to experience a nature trail or see a family of deer. We hope to make this a space that they can enjoy, but also learn from," Carfora said.
In keeping with a focus on the environment the school will also be getting new energy efficient windows.
"When we decided that we would keep the building, which was built in 1917, we knew we would have to change things to make it work for our current needs," Abbate said.
The new windows will help cut heating costs and also update the building.
A big part of the project was updating all of the classrooms to include modern technology.
Abbate said the changes are necessary to keep up with the variety of students they serve ranging from 3 to 22 years of age.
"Our students are not homogeneous. They each come with different skill sets and different situations including a growing number of students who are not deaf, but hard of hearing," Abbate said. "We wanted to include a sound field system that would allow students who have cochlear implants or are hard of hearing to be able to hear their teachers."
The classrooms also include Smartboards, which can project Internet information right onto a white board for students to see.
Abbate said ideally the entire project will be completed by 2010. The school hopes to raise most of the money on its own.
"We are very fortunate in that the community supports the school and what we do here. We have many generous businesses and other donors who have helped us get to this point and we hope to continue getting that support," he said.
When students return to Willie Ross School for the Deaf in a few weeks they will see some changes in their classrooms and at the playground.
"The new playground equipment started going in right after our summer school program was over, so I think most of the students will be surprised," said Linda L. Carfora, the director of the Longmeadow campus of the school.
The campus is undergoing major changes including $125,000 worth of new computers and other technology in each of the classrooms as well as new playground equipment, a basketball court and more.
"This has been work in progress for many years," said the school's executive director Louis E. Abbate. Now the school is in negotiations to purchase about 37,000 square feet of land located behind the Longmeadow campus, which they hope to use as an educational tool for their students.
"A lot of our students live in the inner city and they don't have an opportunity to experience a nature trail or see a family of deer. We hope to make this a space that they can enjoy, but also learn from," Carfora said.
In keeping with a focus on the environment the school will also be getting new energy efficient windows.
"When we decided that we would keep the building, which was built in 1917, we knew we would have to change things to make it work for our current needs," Abbate said.
The new windows will help cut heating costs and also update the building.
A big part of the project was updating all of the classrooms to include modern technology.
Abbate said the changes are necessary to keep up with the variety of students they serve ranging from 3 to 22 years of age.
"Our students are not homogeneous. They each come with different skill sets and different situations including a growing number of students who are not deaf, but hard of hearing," Abbate said. "We wanted to include a sound field system that would allow students who have cochlear implants or are hard of hearing to be able to hear their teachers."
The classrooms also include Smartboards, which can project Internet information right onto a white board for students to see.
Abbate said ideally the entire project will be completed by 2010. The school hopes to raise most of the money on its own.
"We are very fortunate in that the community supports the school and what we do here. We have many generous businesses and other donors who have helped us get to this point and we hope to continue getting that support," he said.