The Kendall Green we see today is the culmination of 150 years of
history. Efforts
by Amos Kendall, an influential Washington writer and politician,
led to the formation
of a small private elementary school
to serve deaf and blind children, known as the Columbia Institution
for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind, located in
Washington, D.C.
On
June 18, 1857, this institution
became known as the Kendall School, the
first academic institution for the deaf on the Kendall Green campus.
Gallaudet College (now Gallaudet University), the world’s only liberal
arts college specifically for deaf and hard of hearing students, wasn’t
founded until 1864.
Today Kendall School (now called
Kendall Demonstration Elementary School or KDES) is much more than a place of
education for deaf and hard of hearing students. The Kendall School
experience also offers students full immersion in Deaf culture and the
Deaf community. The school is a cherished place and it
deserves the great honor that comes with its name. Since the
establishment of the Kendall School, two other institutions for deaf and
hard of hearing students have been built on the 99-acre campus:
