Home Posts tagged Willie Ross School for the Deaf

Claire Sanders Elected Chair of Willie Ross School for the Deaf Board of Trustees

By
Daily News

Claire Sanders

LONGMEADOW — Willie Ross School for the Deaf (WRSD) announced a new chair of its board of trustees. Claire Sanders is the second deaf chair of the board in the school’s history, following the late George Balsley II, who served as chair until his passing in early 2025.

Sanders, who has been teaching in the field of American Sign Language and deaf studies for more than 25 years, serves as a Deaf Studies department chair and a professor of Language and Culture at Holyoke Community College. She has also taught at numerous colleges, including Hampshire College, Keene State College, Mt. Wachusett Community College, River Valley Community College, and Greenfield Community College.

“One of the reasons our school has been so resilient and successful since our inception is the quality of our board of trustees and trustee leadership,” said Bert Carter, president and CEO of WRSD. “Claire brings experience in deaf education to the position, and we welcome her to this new leadership position.”

Sanders holds a master’s-level national certification from the American Sign Language Teachers Assoc. In addition to her service on the WRSD board, she is a board member of the Western Massachusetts Assoc. for the Deaf and has led workshops related to the growing field of deaf studies.

“I felt honored to be invited to be on the board of trustees at WRSD in 2019, and am now also honored to serve as the school’s second deaf chair. As chair, I will provide my steadfast support for deaf, deafblind, and hard-of-hearing children at WRSD, for they so deserve the opportunity to receive the best education and experience available,” Sanders said. “As a deaf person with a master’s degree in deaf education, reconnecting in the field of deaf education enables me to continue my involvement in the betterment of the lives of WRSD students.”

Willie Ross School, Bay Path Cut Ribbon for New Early-education Space

By
Daily News

LONGMEADOW — Willie Ross School for the Deaf (WRSD) and Bay Path University held a joint ribbon cutting on Dec. 17 for newly developed early-education classroom space being created for Willie Ross on the Bay Path campus.

The event celebrated the collaboration between the university and WRSD as it addresses the need for more early-education space. The space is located on the first floor of Theinert Hall, a multi-use residence hall on campus.

Bay Path University President Sandra Doran; WRSD President and CEO Bert Carter; Ruth Lahti, dean of School of Education, Psychology and Humanities at Bay Path; Erika Kaftan, WRSD Education director; George Balsley II, chair of WRSD’s board of trustees; and Wayne Webster, vice chair of the Bay Path board offered remarks during the ribbon-cutting event. Bay Path University and WRSD faculty, staff, and board members were also in attendance, along with families served by WRSD.

The space developed in Bay Path’s Theinert Hall features approximately 7,500 square feet with four classrooms and several support rooms for students and staff. The process of transforming the space involved the demolition of first-floor dormitory rooms and bathrooms and the reconstruction of bathrooms and classrooms, along with the installation of required HVAC equipment, ceiling and lighting fixtures, and safety systems to meet current code requirements.

The new space on the Bay Path campus will enable Willie Ross to serve an additional 20 students as the school has experienced a growing Early Childhood program. The classrooms will also provide opportunities for hands-on experience for Bay Path University students.

“Our school is thrilled to join in this collaboration with Bay Path University,” Carter said. “As our early-education services have grown, and with our Longmeadow campus at maximum capacity for early-education classrooms, we looked for additional off-campus space to serve our students. Bay Path’s location near our own campus and willingness to envision how our program could serve their students creates a great marriage that will serve both of our institutions and our students.”

Added Doran, “at Bay Path, partnerships like this one are at the heart of who we are and what we do. We are proud to offer our resources and expertise to support the vital early-education work of Willie Ross School for the Deaf. Collaborations like these not only benefit our students by providing hands-on learning opportunities, but also strengthen our community. From early education to corporate and nonprofit lifelong learning, Bay Path has so much to offer, and we are always delighted to work with organizations that share our mission of empowering learners at every stage of life.”

Immediately after the ribbon-cutting event, Bay Path University held its annual holiday party for employees, featuring a long-standing tradition of presenting a local nonprofit organization with contributions from the university community. This year, in celebration of its new partnership, Bay Path selected Willie Ross School for the Deaf.

Willie Ross School for the Deaf to Reveal Innovative New Rigamajig Play System

By
Daily News

LONGMEADOW — The Willie Ross School for the Deaf (WRSD) will unveil its new Rigamajig, granted by the Morgan Stanley Foundation and the national nonprofit KABOOM!, at an event this Friday, Feb. 18 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Wing Hall at the school, located at 32 Norway St., Longmeadow. Students will get to play with the new system at the fun-filled event. Representatives from the Morgan Stanley Foundation and Willie Ross will be in attendance.

An interactive set of wooden planks, wheels, and pulleys, Rigamajig allows children to develop language, communication, and problem-solving skills that are key to cognitive development and STEM learning. WRSD will incorporate the Rigamajig play set into its school programming, providing a unique, year-round play element for kids.

WRSD provides deaf and hard-of-hearing students access to comprehensive, evidence-based education and support services in the classroom and in the greater community. The school works to maximize each individual’s intellectual, social, and emotional growth from the early-childhood level through high school.

Play is essential to the physical, social, and emotional health of every child. However, far too many kids lack access to safe and fun play opportunities. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on kids has created an even more urgent need to ensure that all kids have opportunities to play where they live and learn.

The partnership with KABOOM! is part of the Morgan Stanley Foundation’s commitment to give kids a healthy start to life. Safe places to play are vital to that commitment. Since the beginning of this long-standing, successful partnership in 2011, Morgan Stanley and KABOOM! have built 25 playgrounds and awarded 42 Imagination Playground and Rigamajig grants, serving more than 36,000 children in communities across the U.S.

Willie Ross School for the Deaf Announces Mary Cate Mannion as New Trustee

By
Daily News

LONGMEADOW — Willie Ross School for the Deaf (WRSD) announced that Mary Cate Mannion has joined the school’s board of trustees. Mannion works for Garvey Communication Associates Inc. (GCAi) and is a former news anchor and reporter for Western Mass News.

Mannion said her hard-of-hearing sister is part of the inspiration behind her joining the school’s board of trustees. Her sister underwent surgeries and gained more language access through hearing aids and the use of American Sign Language (ASL).

Mannion said her sister “shares her love of ASL with our family and followed that passion to become an educator at a school for the deaf and hard of hearing on the West Coast. Witnessing her experiences in education shaped my perspective on the importance of providing an opportunity for deaf and hard-of-hearing students to learn in a way that is best for them.”

Mannion visited the main and partnership campuses prior to accepting the invitation to join the board. “Recently, I had a chance to visit the WRSD facilities in East Longmeadow and Longmeadow, and the excitement for learning of both educators and students was clear. I am thrilled to support them and the mission of the Willie Ross School for the Deaf as a board member.”

Mannion is a public relations analyst and video producer with eight years of storytelling experience. She previously worked as a news reporter for WMTW-TV in the Portland, Maine area, and prior to that was at Western Mass News. She earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Emerson College.

According to Bert Carter, president and CEO of WRSD, “we are blessed to have a committed and inspired group of trustees on our board. Mary Cate’s understanding and commitment for what we do in preparing students for the world offers a valuable new voice in that work.”

Willie Ross School for the Deaf Names Joel Skelton Coordinator of Community Engagement

By
HCN News & Notes

LONGMEADOW — Willie Ross School for the Deaf announced the appointment of Joel Skelton to the newly created position of coordinator of Community Engagement at the school.

A native of Dallas, Skelton is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, earning a bachelor’s degree in professional and technical communication and a master’s degree in communication and media technologies.

In his new position, Skelton will be responsible for creating greater awareness of the school and its brand through various forms of outreach, including a greater presence on social media. He will also handle fundraising and development, grants, and event planning.

Skelton, who has a central auditory processing disorder, was denied access to deaf-education resources when in school. He later received the appropriate deaf services and the use of an interpreter, which helped him to excel academically. That experience helped prepare him to promote the philosophy of Willie Ross School for the Deaf.

“What appealed to me about joining the Willie Ross School is its commitment to its total-communication model of educating deaf and hard-of-hearing students, which emphasizes a range of communication methods that are best suited for each child that might include oral communication and sign language,” Skelton said. “My own story of being denied access to appropriate deaf-education resources has made me aware of the need for schools for the deaf, like Willie Ross, and the importance of having the resources to appropriately meet students’ needs.”

Added President and CEO Bert Carter, “we welcome Joel to our staff in this new position as a way to share the message about Willie Ross and the work we do more broadly through events, social media, and grant requests. Joel’s experience and background make him uniquely qualified to raise our profile and help us engage current and new audiences around the important work we do with students.”