NORTHAMPTON – The Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech is
listing nearly all that remains of its once sprawling campus
here with a large regional land broker.

Clarke, founded in 1867 and once predominantly a boarding
school, now operates from five campuses across the nation.
The school cites the strides made in technology, including
cochlear implants, and a changing dynamic in how educational
services are provided to the deaf and hard-of-hearing as the
reasons for its planned downsizing.

“There’s not the same kind of need for the same
kind of physical structure we’ve had
historically,” said Clarke president William J. Corwin
on Monday.

The property up for sale includes nearly 12 acres, a
gymnasium with an Olympic-size pool and nine other
buildings.

The property was listed for sale a week ago with a
“request for proposals” via the Boston-based
LandVest, an affiliate of Christie’s. A map and an
accompanying description are available on the real estate
firm’s website, www.landvest .com/property/10345753.

Clarke is selling a total of 11.7 acres, including 8.02
acres on the west side of Round Hill Road and 3.68 on the
east side. The only building outside the boundaries of the
map is Alexander G. Bell Hall, which was built in the 1970s
as a dormitory for older students and is the newest building
on campus.

The buildings listed for sale are Hubbard Hall, named for
the school’s founder, Gardiner Green Hubbard, and
Rogers Hall, both located on the east side of Round Hill
Road. Gawith, Coolidge and Skinner halls on the opposite
side of the street are also being offered, along with
Galbraith Gym, Adams House, the building that houses the
boilers and the cottage where the supervisor of the physical
plant lives. In addition, there is a garage for sale.

Despite the fact that nearly all of the sprawling campus is
up for grabs, Corwin emphasized that the historic school,
the country’s first school to teach deaf children using
“oral education” – using speech rather than sign
language – methods, will maintain a presence on Round Hill
Road. Rather, he said, the downsizing reflects profound
changes in the treatment of the deaf.

For more than a century, Clarke was predominantly a
boarding school for students from kindergarten through high
school. It was not uncommon for families to move to
Northampton so that their children could attend Clarke.

Over the last decade to 15 years, however, advancements in
technology and in the screening of newborns for hearing
impairments have resulted in better services for the deaf at
an earlier age. Cochlear implants afford all but the most
severely impaired a significant degree of hearing. As a
result, Corwin said, most are now able to remain in the
mainstream, where Clarke reaches out to them.

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