Our Impact

Alumni from Northwest School for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children are prepared to achieve on a level playing field with their hearing peers. In many cases, our alumni go on to surpass state and national outcomes for D/HH individuals. ^[1]

Our students reach inspiring heights both academically and professionally:

• Nearly all of NWSDHH’s students (98%) graduate from high school with reading and math skills above, at, or near grade level. Nationwide, only 40% of deaf and hard-of-hearing students reach this level of academic achievement.
• 100% of our students graduate from high school, compared to only 76% of deaf and hard-of-hearing students nationally.
• Close to 9 in every 10 NWSDHH alumni go on to study at a post-secondary level, with 67% completing their degree. Nationally, less than 7 in 10 deaf or hard-of-hearing students enroll in a post-secondary program, and of those less than 30% graduate.
• NWSDHH alumni are more than twice as likely to be employed as deaf and hard-of-hearing young adults in Washington State.

Our graduates are engaged, self-reliant citizens:

• Nearly 9 in 10 NWSDHH alumni are registered to vote, compared to just 6 in 10 deaf and hard-of-hearing adults nationally.
• Only about 1 in 5 NWSDHH alumni live with their parents, compared to nearly 3 in 5 deaf and hard-of-hearing adults nationally.
• Only 13% of NWSDHH alumni use a social services case manager or service coordinator, compared to 61% deaf and hard-of-hearing adults nationally.

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^[1] Appleman, K.I., Callahan, J., O. Mayer, M.H., Luetke, B.S., & Stryker, D.S. (2012). Education, employment, and independent living of young adults who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. American Annals of the Deaf, 157(3), 264-275.