ASDB provides Arizona Deaf and Blind Education and offers educational services for Arizona’s Deaf and Blind students
Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind traces its historic roots back to Arizona statehood, having been enacted by the first state legislature in 1912. The ASDB serves over 2,000 children from birth to age 22 who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, visually impaired, multisensory disabled or deafblind.ASDB operates two schools for the deaf, one school for the blind, a statewide birth-to-three early childhood and family education program and five regional cooperatives.
Regional Cooperatives
Through its five regional cooperatives, ASDB provides services to students who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, visually impaired, multisensory disabled, or deafblind at hundreds of local schools throughout Arizona.
The regional cooperatives were created to help support students, from preschool through twelfth grade, who are deaf/hard-of-hearing or blind/visually impaired in the general education classroom within their public school setting. If a student requires full-time, intensive services from a teacher of the visually impaired or a teacher of the deaf/hard-of-hearing, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team will look at all options available to best meet each student’s unique learning needs. ASDB provides the following services to districts and charters: specialized staff, district staff training, equipment, audiological or vision-related services, assessments and other training or support needed.
ASDB is also exploring regional partnership programs with local school districts. The intent of these partnerships is to provide students outside of Phoenix and Tucson the opportunity to come together at a single school location and learn with like peers who are deaf and/or blind.
Early Childhood and Family Education Program
The ASDB Early Childhood and Family Education (ECFE) program works in partnership with the Arizona Early Intervention Program to provide early intervention services to infants and toddlers (birth to age three) all over the state of Arizona who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, visually
impaired or deafblind. Services are provided directly within the home and other natural learning environments by certified teachers and specialists. Services to children and their families are based on individual child needs and determined by the development of an Individualized Family Service
Plan. Learning opportunities specific to each child’s sensory-based learning needs are also offered, such as American Sign Language and/or Listening and Spoken Language instruction for deaf/hard-of-hearing children and Orientation and Mobility services for children who are blind/visually impaired. Families with a deaf child also have the opportunity to participate in ECFE’s Deaf Mentor Program.
ECFE professionals provide families with information about all learning opportunities available to their child. Parents are instructed and coached on the best ways for each individual child to access his or her learning environment and acquire foundational skills critical to development: cognitive, communication, physical and social-emotional. The ECFE team also coordinates parent-toddler classes, parent support groups and family gatherings which offer invaluable co-learning, networking and support opportunities for families.
Phoenix Day School for the Deaf
ASDB’s Phoenix campus, Phoenix Day School for the Deaf, is an AdvancED accredited day school program offering educational and support services to over 300 hundred students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing from preschool through twelfth grade. Students throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area are transported in to participate in the unique learning opportunities of this thriving school. Each student’s education is specifically aligned to his or her Individualized Education Program (IEP) to ensure a tailored, high quality learning experience is provided by qualified staff. Students can participate in an abundance of enriching yet fun in-school and extracurricular activities: academic competitions, afterschool programs, athletics, career and technical education, elective courses, fairs and festivals, online learning, summer school, theater and much more.
The Tucson Campus
The Tucson campus, ASDB’s first campus, offers a day program for students and features 68 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds. The campus houses both a renowned performing arts and a highly regarded deafblind program, the Arizona Deafblind Project. Live-in dormitories provide a “home away from home” experience for some students attending the campus from outlying areas of the state. The campus is accredited by AdvancED and offers kindergarten through twelfth grade instruction. Preschool classes are also available for students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. In addition to providing all the support services necessary to meet each student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP), staff at both schools are also dedicated to offering myriad academic, social growth and career prep opportunities. Students who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, visually impaired or deafblind can participate in career and technical education and work study programs, educational activities, exciting clubs, field trips, holiday events and summer camps and outings.