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Home > About Clarke > President's Welcome
President's Welcome
 My wife, Jennifer and I first came to Clarke in the autumn of 2000 with our daughter Sophia, who was an infant at the time. Like every parent who discovers their child has a hearing loss, we were full of questions and uncertainty. What would our daughter's life be like? How would she share her ideas and emotions with us? Would she have the opportunities and experiences that most other children have? At Clarke, we met caring and knowledgeable professionals who helped us find the answers. I remember a Clarke professional saying with cheerful certainty, "Sophia's going to be OK." Those words of reassurance were difficult to believe after all our worry and concern, but they were true. Sophia is flourishing in a mainstream elementary school. I have little doubt that she will be able to do anything she sets her mind to. When our second daughter, Juliet, was diagnosed with a more severe hearing loss and we decided she would receive a cochlear implant, Clarke helped us navigate the process with confidence. Juliet now has bilateral implants and is thriving in a mainstream classroom. Clarke was a godsend for our family. As president, I continue to see the passion, professionalism and dedication that first impressed me as a parent, and I now have observed it in all of our programs and locations. Every day Clarke is transforming the lives of children and families. Clarke opens up the world for children and helps them be what they want to be. I truly believe there is no work more important than that. Clarke continues to do great work, but we will always strive to serve our families, students and clients better. I am continuing to gather information and determine a vision for Clarke's future. Although it will take time to fully develop a strategic plan, there are some immediate ways in which we can begin to move forward. We will refine our programs with an eye toward serving even more families effectively. We will enhance and expand collaboration among our schools and programs. We have a tremendous wealth of skill and expertise on our staff, and we will create better ways for tapping into those and other valuable internal resources. We also plan to overhaul our website, so that parents, alumni and others can find out about Clarke easily and we can display more fully to the world the important work we are doing. We will balance our proud history with an innovative forward-looking attitude to create an adaptive, proactive culture that is ready to meet the changing needs of those we serve. When I spoke to our entire Northampton staff on their first day back for the new school year, I asked them to think about the individual legacy that they each want to leave at Clarke. That question extends to all of us in the Clarke community. Each staff member, student, parent, alumnus, volunteer and supporter is an important part of this organization and has the ability to impact the lives of many children. I am confident that together, we will lead Clarke to a successful and innovative future. Bill Corwin
President
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