Diversity at St. Mary's School for the Deaf

SMSD is here to bridge the Access Gap for newly arrived Deaf Students and their families in Western New York. Our goal is to develop trusting relationships and assist families who may have additional barriers to service. New arrivals can face challenges and are limited in areas such as formal education, financial resources, English proficiency for families and students, access to formal signed communication. 

Guided by Best Practices in Diversity as outlined by CEASD, St. Mary's School for the Deaf can assist in the following areas:

• Linguistic Access
  • Listening and spoken language Interpreters for events
  • Deaf Interpreters for assessments of students who lack formal communication.
  • Document translations

• Transportation/Event Access
  • Taxi Voucher Program

New Arrivals in Buffalo, NY identified by the United Nations include:

• Undocumented Immigrant Families
  • Entire family does not have legal documents.
  • Child is US citizen, one or both parents are not.
  • Child is undocumented and living with documented US family members.
  • Domestic and Worldwide
  • Combinations of Legal status
  • Economic Transplants
  • Family sponsored immigration
  • International Adoptions ages 3+

If you need assistance or know someone that does please call or email today.