St. Francis de Sales School for the Deaf (SFDS) is a privately owned, state supported school for Deaf students from birth through 8th grade. The School is located in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn and offers three core programs: (1) a Parent Infant Program (Ages 0-3); (2) an Early Childhood Program (Ages 3-5); and (3) a School Age Program (Grades K-8). SFDS serves students who are Deaf, DeafBlind, Functionally Deaf and Deaf with Additional/Multiple Disabilities (including Deaf with Autism and Deaf with Intellectual Disabilities). The School's Mission is to educate the whole child utilizing best practices through a multimodal – multilingual communication approach in an inclusive, barrier-free environment so that each student develops academically, linguistically, physically, socially, and emotionally at a pace suited to their needs and abilities. The focus is on students’ strengths so the School supports them as they achieve their goals as independent readers, writers, and communicators. The Partners in Hearing program is new. SFDS' goal along with that of PIH is to enhance the communication tools of students using Listening and Spoken Language (“LSL”), (as opposed to ASL or "signing" if possible) as their primary communication language and mode for both students with and without implants. That goal clearly coincides with PIH’s Mission leading to our support of a Parent Training Program that includes: Family coaching sessions to teach strategies to use at home; interpreters for non-English speaking families to have access to learning listening strategies to use at home with their child; and information about options for in person or virtual parent training. No such program would be currently established at the School without our funding. Learn more about the School at https://www.saintfrancisonthebeach.com/
