Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf

The Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf (ENCSD) provides specialized instruction for deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind students.  ENCSD was founded in 1964 and serves the 53 easternmost counties in North Carolina. Licensed teachers provide instruction in low student to teacher ratio classrooms.  The residential program provides opportunities for educational enhancement during the after school programming.  Students follow the North Carolina Standard Course of Study and participate in the North Carolina Accountability System. Teachers use proven instructional strategies such as Accelerated Reading, Thinking Maps, and Write from the Beginning.  ENCSD High School students prepare for the real world of work through career awareness training and intensive testing to help them identify appropriate careers.  Students work on and off campus to learn successful job skills with on the job training.  Many students graduate ready to enter the workforce, but the college prep and tech prep tracks are available along with the Occupational Course of study.  Some ENCSD students take classes in the local Wilson County Schools and at Wilson Technical Community College In the Independent Living Center program, students learn how to budget, shop, cook and complete household duties in the classrooms and apply these skills while living in their own apartments.  The Independent Living Center strengthens students’ skills in transitioning to live in society successfully. ENCSD serves deaf-blind and multi-disabled students.  Specialized deaf-blind intervenors help their students learn to interact with their environment to become more independent.  Multi-disabled students learn real world job skills in the sheltered workshop program and in off-campus work experiences.   Resource Support Program The Resource Support Program was established in the spring of 2002. This program provides services to the public schools of North Carolina to assist in the delivery of appropriate instruction for students ages 3-21 who are deaf or hard of hearing. Several state and national trends have resulted in an increased need for an outreach program. These include increased numbers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing attending public schools, children transitioning from early intervention to public school services at age three, the variety of communication options utilized by students in North Carolina schools, and the growing number of students receiving cochlear implants.