Misplaced Pages

St. Rita School for the Deaf
Address
1720 Glendale Milford Road Cincinnati, (Hamilton County), Ohio 45215 United States
Coordinates	39°15′10″N 84°26′54″W / 39.25278°N 84.44833°W / 39.25278; -84.44833
Information
Type	Private, Coeducational
Motto	Teaching communication for life
Religious affiliation(s)	Catholic
Established	1915
Executive Director	Angela Frith
Chaplain	Rev. Wysong
Faculty	99
Grades	PK–12
Enrollment	180 (2008-2009)
Campus size	237 acres (0.96 km)
Color(s)	Green and Gold
Slogan	Dream, Achieve, Soar
Athletics	none
Mascot	Lions
Nickname	Lions
Website	http://www.srsdeaf.org

St. Rita School for the Deaf is an independent Roman Catholic school located in the village of Evendale, near Cincinnati, Ohio.

History

Challenged by Archbishop Henry Moeller, Father Henry J. Waldhaus, with the help of the Knights of De l'Epee and the Saints Mary and Joseph Society, was able to raise the funds necessary to purchase the land for St. Rita School. The school opened in 1915 and became the first accredited high school for the deaf in Ohio. In 2016, Sr. Marianne Van Vurst SC was named as interim Executive Director of the school.

Approach and languages used

Currently, their philosophy is "comprehensive communication" — essentially Total Communication with a different name. The school's deaf and hearing teachers use ASL as a method of instruction, but the majority use is Simultaneous Communication.

Academics and programs

While based in the Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati, St. Rita School works to meet the needs of Deaf and hard of hearing and students with special communication needs. Students come from all over Cincinnati in addition to students from northern Kentucky and other parts of Ohio.

St. Rita's is one of the first schools in the country to develop a program for dyspraxic children, sometimes referred to as "global" apraxia. The program teaches to the students communication disabilities (oral-buccofacial apraxia) and encompasses each student's global dyspraxic apraxia disabilities that affect the student's fine and gross motor skills with their motor planning; sequencing and motor- processing abilities (which include but is not limited to ideomotor, ideation, limb-kinetic and ocular motor apraxias).

The school's Montessori pre-school program is designed to meet the development needs of hearing and deaf children, starting at 3 years of age. The school also features an elementary, high school, and Career Plus programs.

Athletics

St. Rita's competes with area schools in basketball and volleyball. In 1962, the high school division petitioned the Greater Catholic League to compete in football at the reserve level. Later, the high school became a member of the Girls Greater Cincinnati League. Due to small class sizes, in 2017/2018 the school switched to intramural sports and did not compete competitively.

Fundraising

Like many Greater Cincinnati Catholic parishes, major funding comes from annual festivals. The St. Rita Fest began in 1916 but stopped in 2016 It was one of the area's largest. The school still holds a Grand Raffle and a scholarship benefit dinner.

References

1. Vissing, Jessica (January 2008). "Lion TracksI1" (PDF). St. Rita School for the Deaf Lion Tracks. 1 (1). St. Rita School for the Deaf. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
2. Amos, Denise Smith (March 11, 2011). "Q&A with James Rigg, superintendent of schools". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Gannett Company. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2011. With the exception of St. Rita School for the Deaf, which is controlled by an independent board, there are three kinds of Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati...
3. "History". Greater Catholic League. June 14, 2006. Archived from the original on October 15, 2010. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
4. "History". Girls Greater Cincinnati League. February 6, 2008. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
5. Steigerwald, Shauna (July 11, 2007). "St. Rita Fest, an enduring summer rite, arrives Fri". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Gannett Company. p. B3. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
6. Knight, Cameron (January 15, 2016). "St. Rita Fest Ends due to costs, staffing". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Gannett Company. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2020.

External links

• Official website

v t e Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati
v t e Ordinaries of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Bishop Edward Fenwick Archbishops John Baptist Purcell William Henry Elder Henry K. Moeller John T. McNicholas Karl Joseph Alter Paul Francis Leibold Joseph Bernardin Daniel Edward Pilarczyk Dennis Marion Schnurr Catholicism portal
v t e Churches in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Cathedral Cathedral Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains Parishes Cincinnati Church of the Annunciation Immaculata Church Old St. Mary's Church St. Aloysius on the Ohio St. Francis De Sales Church Saint Francis Seraph Church St. Francis Xavier Church St. Lawrence Church St. Pius X Church St. Rose Church Dayton Holy Cross Church Sacred Heart Church St. Adalbert Church St. Mary's Church Springfield St. Joseph's Church St. Raphael's Church Other Immaculate Conception Church, Botkins St. Aloysius Church, Carthagena Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Cassella Immaculate Conception Church, Celina Precious Blood Church, Chickasaw Our Lady of Victory Church, Delhi Township St. Joseph's Church, Egypt Holy Family Church, Frenchtown St. John's Church, Fryburg St. Patrick's Church, Glynwood St. John the Baptist Church, Maria Stein Sacred Heart Church, McCartyville St. Michael's Church, Mechanicsburg St. Augustine's Church, Minster St. Louis Church, North Star St. Nicholas Church, Osgood St. Anthony's Church, Padua St. Remy's Church, Russia St. Henry's Church, St. Henry Holy Rosary Church, St. Marys St. Rose's Church, St. Rose St. Sebastian's Church, Sebastian St. Joseph's Church, Wapakoneta Former parishes All Saints Church, Cincinnati Holy Trinity Church, Cincinnati St. Augustine Church, Cincinnati St. George's Church, Cincinnati St. Michael the Archangel Church, Cincinnati St. Paul Church, Cincinnati St. Philomena's Church, Cincinnati St. Patrick's Church, St. Patrick Shrine Shrine of the Holy Relics
v t e Education in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Higher education Chatfield College University of Dayton Edgecliff College Mount St. Joseph University Xavier University Seminary Athenaeum of Ohio – Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West High schools Cincinnati DePaul Cristo Rey High School Elder High School La Salle High School Mercy McAuley High School Archbishop McNicholas High School Purcell Marian High School Seton High School St. Ursula Academy St. Xavier High School Summit Country Day School Ursuline Academy Dayton Carroll High School Chaminade Julienne High School Other Archbishop Alter High School, Kettering Father Stephen T. Badin High School, Hamilton Catholic Central School, Springfield Bishop Fenwick High School, Franklin Lehman Catholic High School, Sidney Moeller High School, Kenwood Mount Notre Dame High School, Reading Royalmont Academy, Mason Roger Bacon High School, St. Bernard St. Rita School for the Deaf, Evendale
v t e Clergy of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Auxiliary bishops Sylvester Horton Rosecrans Joseph H. Albers George John Rehring Paul Francis Leibold Edward A. McCarthy Nicholas Elko Daniel Edward Pilarczyk James Henry Garland Carl K. Moeddel Joseph R. Binzer Priests John Martin Henni Edward Fitzgerald Clarence George Issenmann Henry Damian Juncker Joshua Maria Young John Baptist Lamy James Frederick Wood John Henry Luers Caspar Henry Borgess Richard Gilmour John Quinlan Augustus Toebbe Joseph Gregory Dwenger Henry Richter Francis Beckman Urban John Vehr Francis Augustine Thill Anthony John King Mussio John Joseph Kaising Robert Daniel Conlon Michael William Warfel Earl K. Fernandes
Miscellany	The Catholic Telegraph Der Wahrheitsfreund Former St. Charles Seminary Gruenwald Convent Minster Elementary School St. John Cemetery, Cincinnati New St. Joseph Cemetery, Cincinnati Old St. Joseph's Cemetery, Cincinnati
Catholicism portal

• Greater Catholic League
• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati
• Schools for the deaf in the United States
• Private schools in Cincinnati
• Catholic secondary schools in Ohio
• Educational institutions established in 1915
• High schools in Hamilton County, Ohio
• Private middle schools in Ohio
• Private K–12 schools in the United States
• Private elementary schools in Ohio
• 1915 establishments in Ohio