The Kentucky School for the Deaf celebrates its bicentennial birthday today.

CCSD is the fourth oldest school for the deaf in the nation and was the first to be supported by public funds.

We went to Danville to learn more about the school, its history and its impact.

Many people don't realize that really, Kentucky has been a big supporter of deaf education, especially west of here.

So all the education, the deaf education that happened to the west of here all started here at KSC.

Teachers were trained, their students were trained, became teachers.

They would graduate and then they would go west and they would establish other schools for the deaf in the West.

But it was all based out of here.

We're the fourth deaf school in the nation to have a 200 to your celebration.

And so that's very important.

That's very important for us.

The impact has just been generational.

We have families that have been here for 16 reasons, and then we have students that come here that it's their first generation.

I think the number of years my family has served on this campus is probably over 100 to hundred and 50.

I graduated in 1985, and in my family, like I said, we have really strong connections here.

My parents graduated from here.

My sister graduated from here.

My mother taught English here for several years.

And my sister, my brother in law worked here.

So there's a big family connection.

I'm graduating on the two in the year.

That's really such and such an honor.

At the same time, you know, you think 200 years, that's a long time.

A lot of history since we were established.

And so I'm proud and I'm happy.

And it's really a blessing to be here.

Everybody having the same type of communication, same language.

It's really great.

What's so special about KSAT and other deaf schools across the nation is our kids have full access to language here.

The teachers themselves sign in ASL, so you're getting that direct instruction.

If you were in public school and had to go through an interpreter, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but here it's great having that direct communication with with staff and with teachers.

That's probably my fondest memory.

The hearing student has ability to hear and get all the information constantly.

The vocabulary increases greatly.

They're calling the ability goes up because they're constantly having access.

And a lot of times that a deaf child won't get that they don't know what's going on.

Without the school, you know, maybe students would struggle and may not have the same opportunity to not have the same access.

They would struggle with language, understanding and cognitively being behind.

And so this has really helped to impact young students and their futures.

I've had a lot of language here, more access than I would anywhere else.

Access to American Sign Language and who knows where I would be without that right now.

Really, this is just like like I said, such a home, such a family.

It's so important to me to have the support of the staff and the teachers.

You know, they made me who I am right now.

They've made me feel, you know, just just proud.

Yeah.

Being here for 200 years, that's such a long time for a school.

And I feel really proud of that.

So I'm hoping it'll continue on.

You know, we will see improvements.

Maybe we'll see expansion, more students coming, more services, more programs, and that they can serve the next 200 years of deaf students.

Now, here's to 200 more years.

CCSD will be celebrating the bicentennial with a 200th anniversary gala.

The event is scheduled for April 15th.