Depaul School for Hearing & Speech

Founded in 1908 by the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh and the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, DePaul School for Hearing and Speech has been providing quality Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) education for children with hearing loss for over 100 years. The goal then, as it remains today, was to prepare each student for success in the hearing and speaking world.

The school was originally known as the Pittsburgh School for the Deaf (and later as DePaul Institute) and was in the Lappe Mansion on the North Side of Pittsburgh. Because of the school's growing population, the Pittsburgh Diocese purchased property in Mt. Lebanon and built a new facility in 1911 for educational and residential programs. The programs at DePaul School grew and prospered on that site until the summer of 2002, when DePaul moved to its current location in the former Sacred Heart High School in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

DePaul provides Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) education for children from infancy through age 15 (8th grade). 

This includes early childhood educational programs plus elementary and middle school curricula that are closely aligned with state and national standards in all academic areas with an emphasis on language and vocabulary development.

At DePaul School, we understand and closely follow cutting-edge methodologies in technology and education, constantly realigning our programs to ensure each child’s success. We take a comprehensive approach to nurturing young children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families.  

The DePaul Team meets regularly to share student successes and challenges with the goal of maximizing each child’s progress. Our Individual Educational Programs (IEPs) truly are individualized.

We take a comprehensive approach to nurturing young children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families.

In addition to classroom training, parents receive guidance and instruction on how to be their child’s mentor and advocate through one-on-one sessions with a master teacher of the deaf, educational parent workshops, parent support groups, audiology services, and individualized auditory verbal sessions with licensed speech therapists.

We believe that children who are deaf and hard of hearing have the potential to develop listening and spoken language skills as the foundation for lifelong literacy and intellectual growth.