Cleary School for the Deaf history

In 1960, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rockville Centre legally assumed thesponsorship and ownership of Cleary Deaf Child Center, Inc., upon the request ofRosemary Cleary.

Thefirst school building was renovated in the summer of 1967.

In September 1973, Sister Doris Batt, C.S.J. became thesecond Superintendent and Sister Virginia Barry, C.S.J. became the principal of theschool.

The Board of Trustees was revitalized andmaintains attentive oversight. Therefore, in September 1974, the schoolbegan researching the philosophy of Total Communication.

Acknowledging that thestudents were able to grasp and retain information at a faster pace when using aprogram adhering to this philosophy, the school adopted it in 1975.

Speakers from all over the countrywere invited to share their knowledge with the educators of New York.The school expanded in 1979 to include students from both ends of the schoolspectrum.

In Suffolk, 81 of 253 deaf students were mainstreamed as of December 1981, and of 185 hearing-impaired students, 149 were mainstreamed into normal classroom settings.

Student enrollment continued to grow.In 1985 Genevieve, the last of the Cleary sisters, passed away and the entire Clearyhome became available for school use.

A three bay vehicle area, built in 1987, providedadditional storage space for the expanding school.

After discussion and exploration, , the secondary program moved to the EastIslip High School beginning in the school year 1988-89.

January 1989 saw the opening ofyet another addition to the school, a long overdue faculty room and a motordevelopment room.

In 1990, the school began a self-study program toward certification by the Middle StatesAssociation of Colleges and Elementary School.

ClearySchool opened an Auditory-Oral PreSchool Program in September 2002.