Willie Ross School for the Deaf

08/13/2026

We love showing off our staff!

Check out this blog post one of our classroom assistants wrote for our friends at New England Consortium on Deafblindness - NEC !

Way to go, Amelia! Thank you for sharing!

NEC Alum Amelia's latest blog post

08/11/2026

Ready to start or resume your American Sign Language journey?

WRSD's fall term ASL classes are open for registration!

Classes are $175.

Classes meet for 13 weeks at WRSD's campus in Longmeadow. Classes start September 8 and last until December 8. There will be no classes on November 3.

Classes meet Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00.

Registration link is below. We hope to see you there! 🤟😁

ASL classes information.

08/10/2026

Check out this amazing story featuring Ben LaBelle, WRSD alumni, and his journey to conquer the 740 mile

Way to go, Ben!

After completing a half dozen 90 mile paddles, Ben LaBelle, a deaf Adirondacker, is gearing up for yet another in September.

08/09/2026

Hi, friends!

Our friends at Le Petit Ranch are hosting an amazing ASL experience at the ranch! Read more below! ⤵

La Petit Ranch is hosting a special animal-assisted ASL experience created specifically for Deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their families on Saturday, September 13, from 2:00–4:00 PM, in collaboration with Hillary Baack, a Deaf ASL educator.

Families will learn all about their animals (mini horses, mini donkeys, guinea pigs, sheep, chicken) in ASL, enjoy ASL storytime and songs, do some arts and crafts (fiber and wool work) and connect with live ranch animals in a welcoming, hands-on environment.

To register, click the link below.
​https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/signs-stories-and-animals-an-inclusive-asl-experience-at-le-petit-ranch

Image Description: An event flyer. The top part reads "LE PETIT RANCH" with its tagline "Animal-assisted activities" with their logo to the left. The logo is a brown circle with two ranch animals looking right and left. Below that reads "ASL at the Ranch. Inclusive Animal-Assisted ASL Experience".

In the middle of the flyer on the right side are the event details.
"Sunday, September 13th 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM.
La Petit Ranch
147 Bears Den Rd
Sheffield, MA 01257"

"Join La Petit Ranch and Deaf ASL educator Hillary Baack for a welcoming two-hour ranch experience designed especially for Deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their families. This event is centered on ASL, connection, and community."

"Learn how to introduce yourself and the animals in ASL
Practice simple signs together
Enjoy songs and storytime in ASL
Connect with gentle animals in a meaningful way
A welcoming accessible event for Deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their families"

"Spaces are limited. Please scan the QR code to register." There is a QR code that points to https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/signs-stories-and-animals-an-inclusive-asl-experience-at-le-petit-ranch

The left side of the middle of the flyer has various pictures of children interacting with the animals. One child is working on a coloring page.

The bottom of the flyer has the logos for the sponsors of this event: Bushnell-Sage Library in Sheffield. Its logo is a blue and green book with a green plant growing out of it. The other sponsor is Miles and Smiles for Hadley, and its logo is a series of six socks in different phases of taking a step.

08/08/2026

Massachusetts has a new charitable contributions deduction. It's available to all taxpayers, whether or not you itemize deductions on your federal return. Just keep track of your contributions and report them on the state tax return you file in the first part of 2027. They'll be deducted from your taxable income. This deduction is universal, and permanent, so you can utilize it every year going forward.

To take advantage of this deduction, consider supporting our educational mission by donating to us through our official Zeffy fundraising platform, linked below!

Our students and staff send their heartfelt thanks and appreciation in advance.

Willie Ross School for the Deaf is a 501(c)(3) non profit whose mission is to educate deaf and hard of hearing children in the Western Massachusetts region.…

08/07/2026

We are pleased to announce we received a $10,000 gift from our longtime friends, the John H. & Barbara N. Breck Charitable Foundation in continuing support of our mission to educate Deaf and hard of hearing children in the Western Massachusetts region!

Thank you, friends! Your continued support is very much appreciated! 🤟

08/07/2026

And just like that, Summer School 2026 is a wrap! THANK you for spending some of your summer time here, staff and students! Enjoy the rest of your summer, and we'll be overjoyed to learn how you spent the rest of your summer! 😁🤟

Last week, our friends played a lot as they wrapped up summer school!

Image Descriptions: Younger friends dancing around and watching a fun video. Two friends are on the floor playing Blockus while their other friends are playing in the background. Friends playing with wooden block toys and train sets. And finally, a friend painting!

08/06/2026

Last week, our summer school friends had fun with underwater art!

Image Description: Friends using paints on various coloring pages with sea creatures. There are jellyfish, fish, and sharks. One staff member is helping a young student cut their drawing out.

08/05/2026

Last week, our friends in summer school continued their World Cup geography fun!

Image Descriptions: Friends preparing World Cup athletes' profiles and finding their home countries on a map. They then put all of their work on a beautiful bulletin board.

08/04/2026

Last week during our fourth and final week of summer school, our little friends were playing alphabet card games!

We bet they're going to LOVE reading! 🥰

Image Descriptions: Young friends playing with cards that have letters on each of them.