WHO ARE WE?
Clarke Jacksonville Auditory/Oral Center

"...where deaf and hard of hearing children learn to listen and talk"

The Need We Fill

When parents first learn their child is deaf or hard-of-hearing, the news can be overwhelming. Parents may wonder how their child will succeed in life when so much information is communicated through listening and speaking. Learning their child has a hearing loss can feel like the outside world has slammed the door on their child's future.

Our Mission

Our mission is to teach deaf children to listen and talk by providing them with the listening and English language skills and self-confidence they need to enter their neighborhood schools, participate fully in society, and become independent successful adults.

Our Goal

Our goal is to help deaf children develop the speech, language and social skills they need to mainstreanm into public schools as early as kindergarten.

Our students achieve this goal with the help of powerful hearing aids, cochlear implants, and an array of specialized services provided by a team of qualified professionals who understand the benefits of an oral deaf education and the challenges deafness presents.

Our Program

Our program does not teach students sign language. Instead, we provide deaf students with the opportunity to communicate with the greater world through "listening" and spoken language. Clarke Jacksonville opened its doors in 1996 and is one of four campuses established by the world-renowned Clarke-School for the Deaf Center for Oral Education which was founded in 1867. All students who attend Clarke's programs have a severe to profound hearing impairment and a language deficit significant enough to warrant a specialized education.

Our Children and Families

Clarke Jacksonville children, between the ages of two months and 10 years, have been born with a profound hearing loss or lost their hearing at a very early age due to illness or accident. Many children are candidates for cochlear implant surgery or already have implants. The cochlear implant is a revolutionary device that is surgically implanted and provides sound and speech information to individuals who are so profoundly deaf that they cannot benefit from hearing aids.

At Clarke Jacksonville, approximately 50 families enroll their children in our programs annually. We offer outreach services, individual therapy, and counseling to children and their families as well. Also, Clarke Jacksonville provides annual opportunities for training professionals in the field.

Clarke is an international leader in teaching speech, language, and academic skills to deaf children and assisting families and training professionals to work with them. More than 500 children and their families benefit each year from our five schools and educational and support programs. Clarke impacts the lives of more than 10,000 children and adults annually through our research, curriculum development and through teachers and professionals trained at Clarke. We are grateful for the support of friends who are helping deaf children reach their full potential.

A charitable foundation will match all of the Celebration of Sound proceeds dollar-for-dollar; therefore, your gift to Clarke Jacksonville will have twice the impact. Both the gift and the matching funds will directly assist our Clarke Jacksonville students and their families.

A PROGRAM OF THE CLARKE SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF, REGISTRATION #: SC-09585. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVlSION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLlNG TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE OF FLORIDA. 1-800-435-7352. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.