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Kendall School History
1857
- 1900 |
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 Amos Kendall, with his
wealth, brainpower, and political involvement with Congress and President
Jackson’s administration, paved the way to education for the deaf. He was
very enthusiastic about helping to enhance the quality of education for
children with a hearing loss. In 1856, Kendall became guardian of five deaf
orphaned children (four boys and one girl) whom he brought from New York to
Washington, D.C. Also in this year, Kendall donated a house and two acres of
his 103-acre Kendall Green home estate, located on Boundary Street (now
Florida Avenue) to establish a small private elementary school for deaf,
dumb, and blind children and to cover the start-up costs. Kendall initially
named the school the Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and the
Blind.
 Over the course of the following year, Kendall
solicited donations and lobbied Congress to accept the institution as a
training school and to provide funding for education and training to local
poor deaf, dumb, and blind children. On February 16, 1857, the 34th Congress
passed a bill to approve the establishment and name change of this
institution to Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb
and the Blind. The bill also allowed for covering the educational expenses
of poor children from D.C., making it possible for them to attend the
institution along with the five deaf orphaned children. Kendall recruited
seven deaf and six blind local D.C. children to attend the school. On May 4,
1857, Kendall wrote a letter requesting that the youngest son of Thomas
Hopkins Gallaudet—Edward Miner Gallaudet—be hired as the school’s
superintendent.
The newly founded training school, the Columbia
Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind, opened
on June 13, 1857, with 12 deaf and 6 blind children. Five days later, on
June 18, 1857, the elementary school began using the name “Kendall School.”
The 38th Congress granted the Columbia Institution
for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind a charter to operate
collegiate programs in the liberal arts and sciences. On April 8, 1864,
President Abraham Lincoln signed this charter to incorporate the collegiate
division. Kendall became chairman of its Board of Directors after Gallaudet
became president of both the Kendall School and the collegiate division. In
September of 1864, the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf
and Dumb and the Blind was named the National Deaf Mute College.
After serving as Chairman, Kendall continued to
support the school for close to 13 years. He also continued to solicit
donations to supplement the Congressional action to support the education of
the school’s deaf children. Kendall’s dedication to and support of the
school resulted in his being honored as “Patron Saint” for his benevolence
(kindness, compassion, generosity, and goodwill) toward deaf children.
Last Updated:
03/10/2007,
06:30:20 PM
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