A Brief History of the
Utah School for the Deaf
Compiled & Written by Jodi Becker Kinner
Edited by Valerie G. Kinney & Bronwyn O'Hara
Published in 2014
Updated in 2024
Edited by Valerie G. Kinney & Bronwyn O'Hara
Published in 2014
Updated in 2024
1884: In 1884, the Utah School for the Deaf was established, a significant development in the history of deaf education in Utah. This landmark event took place at the University of Deseret, later renamed the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City. The school was founded by William Wood and John Beck, parents of Deaf children, who recognized the need for specialized education for the deaf.
With the establishment of the Utah School for the Deaf on the University of Deseret campus in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the passage of the appropriation bill, the responsibility of setting up the school fell on the capable shoulders of Dr. John Rocky Park, the president of the University of Deseret. Dr. Park's relentless dedication and determination led him to search for a qualified Deaf teacher in the territory, and when that proved unsuccessful, he embarked on a journey to the East in 1884. He met Dr. Edward Miner Gallaudet, president of Gallaudet College, who recommended Henry C. White, a Boston-based Deaf man and a graduate of Gallaudet College. Acting on this recommendation, Dr. Park appointed Mr. White as the principal and teacher at the Utah School for the Deaf (The Utah Eagle, February 1922; Evans, 1999). Henry C. White did not found the Utah School for the Deaf, but he is recognized for his role in managing and sustaining it, which is still operational today, despite facing financial constraints and a lack of support from the hearing community.
The Utah School for the Deaf, a beacon of hope for the Deaf community in Utah, was established on August 26, 1884, in a room at the University of Deseret. Professor Henry C. White, a visionary leader, was the school's first principal and served as a teacher, principal, and head teacher until 1890, shaping the school's early years with his dedication and expertise (Fay, 1893; Clarke, 1897; Metcalf, 1900; The Utah Eagle, February 1922; Pace, 1946).
With the establishment of the Utah School for the Deaf on the University of Deseret campus in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the passage of the appropriation bill, the responsibility of setting up the school fell on the capable shoulders of Dr. John Rocky Park, the president of the University of Deseret. Dr. Park's relentless dedication and determination led him to search for a qualified Deaf teacher in the territory, and when that proved unsuccessful, he embarked on a journey to the East in 1884. He met Dr. Edward Miner Gallaudet, president of Gallaudet College, who recommended Henry C. White, a Boston-based Deaf man and a graduate of Gallaudet College. Acting on this recommendation, Dr. Park appointed Mr. White as the principal and teacher at the Utah School for the Deaf (The Utah Eagle, February 1922; Evans, 1999). Henry C. White did not found the Utah School for the Deaf, but he is recognized for his role in managing and sustaining it, which is still operational today, despite facing financial constraints and a lack of support from the hearing community.
The Utah School for the Deaf, a beacon of hope for the Deaf community in Utah, was established on August 26, 1884, in a room at the University of Deseret. Professor Henry C. White, a visionary leader, was the school's first principal and served as a teacher, principal, and head teacher until 1890, shaping the school's early years with his dedication and expertise (Fay, 1893; Clarke, 1897; Metcalf, 1900; The Utah Eagle, February 1922; Pace, 1946).
1886-1887: In 1886-87, Deaf Professor Henry C. White boarded the Deaf students in his Salt Lake City home at his own expense, as shown in the picture below.
This picture is a front view of the Main Building, with the Annex Building in the background. The Main Building was originally built as a territorial reform school and was still in operation when this photograph was taken. All the individuals in the picture were students of the reform school at that time. In 1896, the reform school was renamed the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind.
1896: In 1896, when Utah became a state, the Territorial Reform School was converted by the legislature into the Utah School for the Deaf. This school was established on 57 acres of land in Ogden on September 15, 1896. For the first time, a school for blind students was added, and the institution was renamed Utah School for the Deaf and Blind.
The picture attached shows the Main Building of the Utah School for the Deaf in Ogden, Utah, with the Annex Building located at the back of the Main Building.
The picture attached shows the Main Building of the Utah School for the Deaf in Ogden, Utah, with the Annex Building located at the back of the Main Building.
The Main Building in the picture below was Superintendent Frank M. Driggs and his wife's home before their campus home was built in 1901-02.
1954: In 1954, a new Administration Classroom Building was constructed in front of the previous Main Building at Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind in Ogden, Utah. Soon after the new Main Building, as shown in the picture below, was completed, the old one was demolished.
1956: In the Salt Lake area of Utah, parents of Deaf children collaborated with the Stewart Training School, a training school for teachers based at the University of Utah, to establish a local oral day school, as seen in the picture below. The Stewart Training School opened its doors in the fall of 1956 to provide an oral classroom for Deaf students.
In Utah, mainstreaming became a popular concept that led to expanding outreach programs. One of the parents, Paul Williams Hodson, had a son named Jonathon, who was five years old at the time. Jonathon remembers that his teacher at the school was Miss Hunt, who later went on to teach at Riley Elementary School (Jonathon Hodson, personal communication, January 31, 2022). The Stewart Training School, a research facility, provided early education to Deaf children using speech and listening skills instead of sign language. This method, known as aural/oral training or oral deaf education, aimed to improve the children's speaking and listening skills (The Utah Eagle, October & November 1960).
In Utah, mainstreaming became a popular concept that led to expanding outreach programs. One of the parents, Paul Williams Hodson, had a son named Jonathon, who was five years old at the time. Jonathon remembers that his teacher at the school was Miss Hunt, who later went on to teach at Riley Elementary School (Jonathon Hodson, personal communication, January 31, 2022). The Stewart Training School, a research facility, provided early education to Deaf children using speech and listening skills instead of sign language. This method, known as aural/oral training or oral deaf education, aimed to improve the children's speaking and listening skills (The Utah Eagle, October & November 1960).
1959: In 1959, the Utah School for the Deaf introduced an Extension Division to provide Deaf students with the opportunity to attend classes closer to their homes. With time, the Extension Divisions were established in different regions of Utah to offer a day program to oral Deaf children living in heavily populated areas.
1960s: Under the leadership of Dr. Grant B. Bitter, known as the "Father of Mainstreaming," Utah's movement toward mainstreaming all Deaf children evolved steadily in the 1960s throughout his mainstreaming campaign. He continued to campaign for mainstreaming until the phrase became popular with the passage of Public Law 94-142 in 1975, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Dr. Bitter was a renowned hard-core oralist and one of the top figures in oral education. He actively promoted both oral and mainstream education. His daughter, Colleen, was born deaf in 1954, which gave him a personal connection to the cause and inspired his dedication to the advancement of oral and mainstream education.
Parents who favored an oral method of instruction founded the Utah Council for the Deaf, which successfully pushed for the Dual Track Program, also known as the "Y" System policy, at the Utah School for the Deaf. Dr. Bitter is believed to have been a member of this council. The program prioritized the oral mechanism over the sign language approach at the USD, a decision that would prove disastrous. Superintendent Robert W. Tegeder of the USDB seemed to favor this transition away from sign language, which had negative consequences (The UAD Bulletin, Fall-Winter, 1962). The Utah State Board of Education approved this policy reform on June 14, 1962, which received support from the Special Study Committee on Deaf Education (The Ogden Standard-Examiner, June 14, 1962; Wight, The Ogden Standard-Examiner, October 19, 1970). The USD embraced the Dual Track Program, which meant all students in the Primary Department started in the Oral Program and couldn't transfer to the Simultaneous Communication Program unless they had "failed" the Oral Program by the age of 11 or 6th grade.
The Utah School for the Deaf introduced the Dual Track Program in the summer of 1962, which shifted its attitude towards potential teachers from sign language to oral communication. This program made speech the primary mode of communication in the classroom for Deaf students. The administrators of the Utah School for the Deaf believed that the Dual Track Program offered benefits that a single track could not (The Utah Eagle, February 1968; Wight, The Ogden Standard-Examiner, October 19, 1970). According to USD, the Oral Program required a "pure oral mindset." In 1968, the USD was one of the few residential schools in the country to offer an exclusively oral program in the primary department (elementary) (The Utah Eagle, February 1968). By 1973, USD was the only state in the United States to provide parents and Deaf students with both methods of communication through the Dual Track System (Laflamme, The Ogden Sandard-Examiner, September 5, 1973).
Parents who favored an oral method of instruction founded the Utah Council for the Deaf, which successfully pushed for the Dual Track Program, also known as the "Y" System policy, at the Utah School for the Deaf. Dr. Bitter is believed to have been a member of this council. The program prioritized the oral mechanism over the sign language approach at the USD, a decision that would prove disastrous. Superintendent Robert W. Tegeder of the USDB seemed to favor this transition away from sign language, which had negative consequences (The UAD Bulletin, Fall-Winter, 1962). The Utah State Board of Education approved this policy reform on June 14, 1962, which received support from the Special Study Committee on Deaf Education (The Ogden Standard-Examiner, June 14, 1962; Wight, The Ogden Standard-Examiner, October 19, 1970). The USD embraced the Dual Track Program, which meant all students in the Primary Department started in the Oral Program and couldn't transfer to the Simultaneous Communication Program unless they had "failed" the Oral Program by the age of 11 or 6th grade.
The Utah School for the Deaf introduced the Dual Track Program in the summer of 1962, which shifted its attitude towards potential teachers from sign language to oral communication. This program made speech the primary mode of communication in the classroom for Deaf students. The administrators of the Utah School for the Deaf believed that the Dual Track Program offered benefits that a single track could not (The Utah Eagle, February 1968; Wight, The Ogden Standard-Examiner, October 19, 1970). According to USD, the Oral Program required a "pure oral mindset." In 1968, the USD was one of the few residential schools in the country to offer an exclusively oral program in the primary department (elementary) (The Utah Eagle, February 1968). By 1973, USD was the only state in the United States to provide parents and Deaf students with both methods of communication through the Dual Track System (Laflamme, The Ogden Sandard-Examiner, September 5, 1973).
As shown in the picture above, the "Y" System Program took place at the Main Building of the Utah School for the Deaf. The Oral Department was on the left, and the Simultaneous Department was on the right
(Utahn, 1957).
(Utahn, 1957).
1969: In January 1969, the new facilities for the blind school were completed in another location. Since then, the Deaf school has been located at 20th Street and Monroe Avenue, while the blind school has been located at 7th Street and Harrison Boulevard.
1970: The Utah Deaf community and parents who supported sign language fought against the "Y" system for almost a decade, but nobody listened, especially after the 1962 student protest. After another student protest in 1969, the Utah State Board of Education finally approved a new policy to replace the "Y" system with a Two-Track Program. This program gave parents a choice between the oral method and the total communication method of instruction for a Deaf child aged 2 to 21 years. The program was supervised by Dr. Jay J. Campbell, a Deputy Superintendent of the Utah State Office of Education who was an ally of the Utah Deaf community. Dr. Campbell oversaw the Utah School for the Deaf (Kenneth L. Kinner, personal communication, May 14, 2011, Recommendations on Policy for the Utah School for the Deaf, 1970; Deseret News, December 29, 1970). Despite the new program, Dr. Bitter remained a staunch proponent of oralism and mainstreaming. As the number of Deaf students mainstreamed increased, the USD alums were heartbroken to see the school and deaf education progressively decline.
1970: The Utah Deaf community and parents who supported sign language fought against the "Y" system for almost a decade, but nobody listened, especially after the 1962 student protest. After another student protest in 1969, the Utah State Board of Education finally approved a new policy to replace the "Y" system with a Two-Track Program. This program gave parents a choice between the oral method and the total communication method of instruction for a Deaf child aged 2 to 21 years. The program was supervised by Dr. Jay J. Campbell, a Deputy Superintendent of the Utah State Office of Education who was an ally of the Utah Deaf community. Dr. Campbell oversaw the Utah School for the Deaf (Kenneth L. Kinner, personal communication, May 14, 2011, Recommendations on Policy for the Utah School for the Deaf, 1970; Deseret News, December 29, 1970). Despite the new program, Dr. Bitter remained a staunch proponent of oralism and mainstreaming. As the number of Deaf students mainstreamed increased, the USD alums were heartbroken to see the school and deaf education progressively decline.
1991: On October 1, 1991, the groundbreaking ceremony for a new facility for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind was held on the campus at 742 Harrison Boulevard in Ogden, Utah.
1993: Two years later in 1993, the old Utah School for the Deaf campus was sold to the Ogden School District by the Utah State Board of Education, and both the Utah School for the Deaf and the Utah School for the Blind were merged. The new main Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind campus was built on the new 13.5-acre campus at 742 Harrison Blvd, as shown in the picture above.
1999: In 1999, the Utah Association for the Deaf's Bi-Bi Committee, led by Minnie Mae Wilding-Diaz, a Deaf parent of three Deaf children, along with Jeff Allen, a hearing parent with a Deaf daughter, searched for a quality educational program for Deaf children in Utah. Eventually, they founded Jean Massieu School of the Deaf, a public charter school in Salt Lake City, Utah, which offered an ASL/English bilingual program. The school was named after Jean Massieu, a French Deaf teacher.
2005: In 2005, Joe Zeidner, a hearing parent of a Deaf daughter, made legislative efforts on behalf of the Utah Deaf Education and Literacy, Inc. This led to the merger of Jean Massieu School of the Deaf with Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind in the same year.
1993: Two years later in 1993, the old Utah School for the Deaf campus was sold to the Ogden School District by the Utah State Board of Education, and both the Utah School for the Deaf and the Utah School for the Blind were merged. The new main Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind campus was built on the new 13.5-acre campus at 742 Harrison Blvd, as shown in the picture above.
1999: In 1999, the Utah Association for the Deaf's Bi-Bi Committee, led by Minnie Mae Wilding-Diaz, a Deaf parent of three Deaf children, along with Jeff Allen, a hearing parent with a Deaf daughter, searched for a quality educational program for Deaf children in Utah. Eventually, they founded Jean Massieu School of the Deaf, a public charter school in Salt Lake City, Utah, which offered an ASL/English bilingual program. The school was named after Jean Massieu, a French Deaf teacher.
2005: In 2005, Joe Zeidner, a hearing parent of a Deaf daughter, made legislative efforts on behalf of the Utah Deaf Education and Literacy, Inc. This led to the merger of Jean Massieu School of the Deaf with Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind in the same year.
2008: In 2008, the Jean Massieu School of the Deaf merged with the Utah School for the Deaf's Total Communication program. Before the merger, most Total Communication teachers had received education from Utah State University's Deaf Education program, which focused on an ASL/English Bilingual approach. Following the merger, the Total Communication teachers were given the opportunity to incorporate an ASL/English bilingual approach in their classrooms.
According to Michelle Tanner, a Total Communication Program teacher, principal of the Jean Massisu School of the Deaf, and Associate Superintendent of the Utah School for the Deaf, the merger of two schools had a positive impact on the students. The merger increased the number of students, which improved the instructional atmosphere and the peer group of students. This, in turn, aided in language development and led to a more effective ASL/English bilingual classroom. Michelle Tanner had always dreamed of this merger and had lobbied for it (Michelle Tanner, personal communication, July 8, 2011).
2010: In January 2010, the teachers and students from the Jean Massieu School of the Deaf, along with some other USDB programs, moved to a new location at 1655 East 3300 South in Salt Lake City, Utah, as shown in the photos above and below. After facing a decade of frustration and repeated denials from the Utah legislature, they finally had a place they could call home.
According to Michelle Tanner, a Total Communication Program teacher, principal of the Jean Massisu School of the Deaf, and Associate Superintendent of the Utah School for the Deaf, the merger of two schools had a positive impact on the students. The merger increased the number of students, which improved the instructional atmosphere and the peer group of students. This, in turn, aided in language development and led to a more effective ASL/English bilingual classroom. Michelle Tanner had always dreamed of this merger and had lobbied for it (Michelle Tanner, personal communication, July 8, 2011).
2010: In January 2010, the teachers and students from the Jean Massieu School of the Deaf, along with some other USDB programs, moved to a new location at 1655 East 3300 South in Salt Lake City, Utah, as shown in the photos above and below. After facing a decade of frustration and repeated denials from the Utah legislature, they finally had a place they could call home.
2011: In 2011, the ASL/English Bilingual Program at the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind in Ogden, Utah, was named the "Kenneth Burdett School of the Deaf" in honor of Kenneth C. Burdett. Kenneth was an alumnus of the school, having graduated in 1929, and later became a teacher at the Utah School for the Deaf. He had a long history connected to the school, serving four decades from 1934 to 1974. While at the Utah School for the Deaf, Kenneth served in various roles, including as a student, boy's supervisor, head basketball coach, athletic director, teacher, printing instructor, and curriculum coordinator.
2016: On October 6, 2016, the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind campus in Salt Lake City, Utah, dedicated their new Education Center., as shown below. The event included a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony that honored C. Mark Openshaw, a former Utah State Board of Education member. The center consists of offices for administrators and rooms for preschool classes for Listening and Spoken Language and blind students. The address of the building is 1655 East 3300 South Salt Lake City, Utah.
Additionally, the new gym floor inside the C. Mark Openshaw Education Center features an eagle logo designed by Brandon R. Hill, a Deaf individual and graduate of Gallaudet in '03 & '13. The logo was created to represent the school, and its key element was carried over from the USDB Eagle logo.
Additionally, the new gym floor inside the C. Mark Openshaw Education Center features an eagle logo designed by Brandon R. Hill, a Deaf individual and graduate of Gallaudet in '03 & '13. The logo was created to represent the school, and its key element was carried over from the USDB Eagle logo.
2020: In 2020, the ASL/English Bilingual Program located on the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind campus in Springville, Utah, was named "Elizabeth DeLong School of the Deaf" in honor of Elizabeth DeLong. She was the first female president of the Utah Association of the Deaf in 1909. Elizabeth graduated from the Utah School for the Deaf in 1897 and from Gallaudet College in 1902. She spent fifteen years as a teacher at the school.