The American School for the Deaf broke ground Monday on a first-of-its-kind development to support deaf and hard-of-hearing students with emotional and behavioral challenges. Two soon-to-be constructed dormitories will expand access to ASD’s PACES Program — one of just two programs in the U.S. that provide residential treatment to children with behavioral and emotional needs who are also deaf, hard-of-hearing, or nonverbal. The new $14 million dorm project builds on this mission. Once construction is complete, Bravin said the new dorms will house 50 students — bumping overall enrollment in the PACES program up to 70. Construction is set to finish at the end of October 2024, but Bravin said he is hopeful construction may move quickly enough to open the dorms in time for the 2024-2025 school year. Bravin said that the project would not be possible without support from ASD’s local and legislative partners, M&T Bank and the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority, which helped ASD obtain low-interest financing for the project.
