Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind to celebrate 150 years

Brett Yager
·1 min read
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(COLORADO SPRINGS) — On Monday, April 8 the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind (CSDB) will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its mission to help students achieve their full potential.

HISTORY: Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind

According to CSDB, the school was created in 1874 when Colorado was still a territory. “The Colorado Institute for the Education of Mutes” was founded by Jonathan R. Kennedy with an appropriation of $5,000 from the Territorial Legislature. The school started in a rented house in downtown Colorado Springs with seven students, three of whom were Kennedy’s own children.

In 1895 the school was renamed to the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind and today serves more than 700 students on campus and statewide.

One of the first graduates of the school, Paul Hubbard, is believed to have been the creator of the football huddle. According to CSDB, he noticed players from the opposing team could see his signing the next play, and to prevent this he called his team into a tight circle to give instructions, a method that was adopted by other teams and later became common practice.

On Monday, CSDB will hold a ceremony celebrating the 150th anniversary with presentations by representatives of the State of Colorado and El Paso County, along with a time capsule activity and the reveal of a mural.

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