For families of deaf and hard-of-hearing children in Northeast Pennsylvania, getting the right support often means waiting months for a diagnosis — and traveling long distances for follow-up care. A new school-based wellness center in South Abington Township is designed to change that.
The Scranton School for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children broke ground Friday on a renovation project that will bring audiology, mental health, behavioral health, speech and language, physical therapy, and occupational therapy services under one roof. Donors, supporters, and school leaders gathered on campus to mark the start of the project — but not before joining students for a Halloween parade and handing out candy.
The need is real. Some families currently wait six to nine months just to receive a diagnosis, delaying access to critical early support. Early intervention teacher MaryAnn Stefko knows how much that gap costs children and their families.
“We know that 90% of deaf and hard-of hearing-children are born to hearing families,” Stefko said. “So when a child is born with a hearing loss, families don’t know what they don’t know, and they don’t know what to expect, and it’s a very new journey.”
Early access to services, Stefko explained, transforms what’s possible for a child. “Their outcomes, all of a sudden, they become really, really attainable, and that’s what every child deserves, and that’s what every family wants,” she said.
School director Dean Pettinato said discussions about creating a centralized center began roughly three years ago, driven by a clear pattern he and area service providers were seeing.
“We’ve seen that families need to travel pretty large distances for follow-up audiology services. We’ve seen families that don’t have the resources and don’t know what the next steps are,” Pettinato said. “So we’re really trying to be impactful for those families that need additional resources, need support, and we feel that we can support those needs in our community.”
Construction is expected to begin in November, with renovations covering portions of the first and second floors of the building — the former Lourdesmont school campus. The project should be complete by next fall.
Funding and Community Support
Supporters have contributed nearly $1.7 million toward the project. The largest gift, $850,000, came from the AllOne Foundation. The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation contributed $500,000, the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund gave $220,000, and the Margaret Briggs Foundation added $50,000. During Friday’s ceremony, students held shovels and posed with oversized checks representing the donations.
Pettinato said he sees the center as just the beginning. “I’m so excited to see this is the beginning of a new chapter, but I think there’s so much opportunity for this project to grow and continue, and obviously I’m very excited about it, very passionate about it,” he said.
The school itself has a long history in the region. Originally known as the Scranton State School for the Deaf, it operated for decades in the city’s Green Ridge neighborhood before the state transferred oversight to the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in 2009. Two years later, in 2011, the school relocated to its current campus. Today, it serves 56 students in preschool through eighth grade.
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