The term Deaf refers to children with varying hearing levels. It is inclusive of hard of hearing, Deaf-Blind, and Deaf+ children, as well as children with hearing assistive technology.

MEET OUR STUDENT LEADERS

Nayely's story

“I am happy that I have been able to meet so many friends who are Deaf like me. CSD has given me the opportunity to get involved with leadership classes, student organizations, and sports.”

Nate's story

“At CSD, I learn in a comfortable environment, without communication barriers. CSD has helped me to understand my identity as a Deaf person. It is a great school for me!”

Cristina's story

“I am not able to sign with my family; but when I am at California School for the Deaf, I can sign. I am more comfortable when I am signing. I like the atmosphere and culture at CSD.”

A note about Cristina's story: Cristina started her education in the Early Childhood Education program at California School for the Deaf. She is now college bound. Cristina is from a hearing family. There is a study by Boston University and University of Rochester Medical Center, in collaboration with the California Department of Education, showing that CSD's Early Childhood Education children from hearing families have the same academic success in American Sign Language and English bilingual settings as the students from Deaf families. (See research study)

EARLY LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Recording of webinar...

Language Milestones for Deaf Education: Understanding SB210 & ASL Assessments

Watch the informative recorded webinar and access more resources.

Recording of webinar...

The Importance of Early Bilingual Deaf Education: Parent Perspectives

Watch the informative recorded webinar and access more resources.

EARLY LANGUAGE MILESTONES

for Kindergarten-readiness

Over 1000 Deaf babies are born in California every year. 2021 was a record year with about 1500 babies born and identified as Deaf. (More than anywhere in the world!)

Each child's language acquisition, whether it be in American Sign Language and/or spoken English or Spanish, should be monitored and tracked every 6 months by the Early Start team. Children benefit from our high expectations!

Language Development Milestones (SB 210)

Download pamphlet | See complete checklist from birth through 5 years of age

Perspective:

Is it fair to expect parents of deaf children to become proficient in American Sign Language when we know that they are well past the critical period (age) for language acquisition?

Let’s shift our perspective and come alongside families. Encourage them to keep trying their best. They do not need to be fluent in sign language in order for their child to succeed. While many families learn sign language alongside their child, external fluent language models have been proven to provide adequate support for language acquisition and growth. In turn, families play an important role in nurturing the social and emotional development of their child regardless of their communication abilities. Providing stable, consistent relationships plays an equally key role in their child’s development.

See full post on Instagram

Deaf Coaching Services

Deaf Coaching Services are now part of California's Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Services

Learn More

FREE RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES

_FREE _Stories signed in American Sign Language by school librarian

Offered weekly on Zoom

FREE to California programs

Get details

_FREE _Academic American Sign Language Assessments

For Deaf Children ages 0 - 18 in California

Consult with experts on bilingualism (ASL & English)

Learn more

_FREE _Classes in American Sign Language for families with Deaf children

Beginning, intermediate, conversational levels, as well as a class for siblings

Learn from home via Zoom

See upcoming session

_FREE _Webinar series on a variety of informative topics related to Deaf Education

For professionals in the field of Deaf Education, as well as families with Deaf children

Webinars offered on Zoom

See upcoming webinars

LOVE FOR LITERACY

Inspirational Interview

Lauren Ridloff stresses the importance of literacy with Deaf students at California School for the Deaf.

Watch video

_FREE _Love and Literacy Across California

For families with Deaf and Hard of Hearing children

Flyer (English version)

_FREE _Love and Literacy Across California

For families with Deaf and Hard of Hearing children

Flyer (Spanish version)

EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION

Learn more about EDHI

Meet California's co-coordinators:

Sheri Farinha

CEO at NorCal Services for Deaf & Hard of Hearing

Email Sheri

Julie Rems-Smario

Early Language & Education Specialist at California School for the Deaf

Email Julie

WE PERCEIVE MORE THAN 80% OF

THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH OUR EYES

ADDRESSING ABLEISM FOR DEAF STUDENTS

Getting perspective on audism

Here's a great article from ASHA about how our unacknowledged ableist biases may be getting in the way of our students in the classroom.

Read Article

DEAF CHILDREN IN CALIFORNIA

By The Numbers

14,000

Deaf school-age children

in California

Have full access to educational and extracurricular activities at the California Schools for the Deaf

1,577

Over 1000 Deaf babies are born in California every year.

April 2020 to September 2021 was a record year with over 1500 babies born and identified as Deaf. (More than anywhere in the world!)

WHY CHOOSE A DEAF SCHOOL?

DEAF SCHOOLS & PROGRAMS	MAINSTREAM PROGRAMS
Fully language-accessible environment	Inadequate access to information through a third party (interpreters; CART services)
Takes advantage of student’s visual acuity	Focuses on child’s hearing acuity
Opportunities for real-time collaboration and discussion.	Lag-time and the need to focus on an interpreter or captions hinders the student's involvement in real-time discussions.
Large number of same-language and same-age peers	Often in multi-age and multi-grade classrooms
Deaf role models	Limited role models, if any
Specialized instruction (that is visually oriented and includes Deaf history and culture)	Taught using a regular curriculum (that focuses on phonology)
Teachers and administrators credentialed in Deaf Education	Teachers often have minimal experience with Deaf students
Equal academic, athletic, social and leadership opportunities	Second-class access that hinders student's self esteem
After-school academic support	Limited interpreter hours
Emphasis is on 'the whole child' concept	Focus is on accommodations provided
Focus is on lifetime success (career education and college readiness)	Focus is on graduation (leaving the school district)
High expectations (using Common Core)	Watered down curriculum
Results oriented (using State Assessments)	Often opted out of assessments
Family education by field experts	Lack of Deaf-specific parent education opportunities for families (such as ASL classes or visual learning styles)

Virtual Open House Presentation

This video explains in depth about the programs offered at California School for the Deaf, Fremont, along with the research behind those programs.

Watch video

BECOMING A STUDENT AT CSD

Open interactive and clickable list of who to contact when referring a student to CSD

Counties We Serve

California School for the Deaf, Fremont serves Deaf students and their families in 46 Northern California counties.

The school provides resources both nationally and internationally through its CORE program.

See Map

Request a Family Tour

We welcome families with Deaf children, between the ages 0 to 22 to tour our school.

To learn more about how to request a family tour, please visit our website.

Local Education Agency staff changes

Please inform us when there is a change in staff so we know who to contact in your district.

Please contact our Administrative Assistant with updates

DEVELOP A STRONG FOUNDATION

California School for the Deaf

Provides services from early start through post-graduation

Brochure - English version