Florida
Welcome to Clarke Florida
Since 1996, Clarke Florida has served children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families from around Florida and the Southeast region. Our expert staff is a group of master’s-level teachers of the deaf and speech-language pathologists.
Clarke Florida
Serving families state-wide!
Clarke Florida, a resource and school for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families, is located in the historic Mandarin area of the city of Jacksonville, and offers services daily on-site, at homes and online.
Programs & Services
Clarke Florida’s Programs and Services
We provide listening and spoken language programs and services for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families throughout the state. These services are referred to as "auditory-oral" in Florida.
Clarke Florida, a resource and school for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families, has a dedicated team of professionals who teach children to listen and speak. We also provide family coaching to help establish a language-rich setting within the home.
My husband and I recall our son’s first six weeks as a full-time student with Clarke. He started when he was about three-and-a-half years old after wearing hearing aids for around 12 months. Within those first six weeks, he went from communicating mostly through gestures and screaming/crying to consistently attempting spoken language. From there he took off and today at five years old we often have a hard time getting him to stop talking. Our prayers were answered. Clarke has given him the tools he needed to learn to listen and speak.
Clarke Florida has program to meet your needs...
Whether you want to maximize the early language development of your baby or find a supportive and personalized preschool class for your toddler.
Birth to Age Three Program
Clarke Florida professionals work closely with families of infants and toddlers to support listening and spoken language learning. With home visits, tVISITs, “Caregiver and Me” and our daily, center-based Toddler-Twos group, families have a number of options for accessing family-centered intervention.
Preschool / Early Elementary Program
With low student-teacher ratios and daily individual speech therapy, Clarke Florida offers full-day, year-round preschool, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade programs. Students enjoy age-appropriate learning activities at every level enriched with the specialized intervention that targets the development of listening and spoken language skills comparable to those of their hearing peers.
tVISIT Program
Through our tVISIT (teleservices Virtual Intervention Services for Infants and Toddlers) Program and additional teleservice options, families are able to connect remotely with Clarke Florida’s speech-language pathologists and teachers of the deaf, maintaining a family’s listening and spoken language education -- despite transportation constraints or living in remote and underserved areas of the state.
Support Groups
Clarke Florida’s support groups, including Parent/Caregiver-Infant Groups, allow families to come together, sharing their experiences and receiving support from Clarke’s expert listening and spoken language professionals.
Summer Services
Clarke Florida offers many of its services year-round, including Support Groups, Preschool / Early Elementary Program and support for students in inclusive education settings. We also offer a fun and enriching listening and spoken language summer program for children entering preschool through the first grade!
Auditory, Speech and Language Services
Children in Clarke Florida’s Preschool / Early Elementary Program have daily access to auditory, speech and language therapies. We are open after school five days a week to meet the needs of children who attend schools with inclusive education settings as well.
Trainings & Workshops
Clarke Florida, a resource and school for children who are deaf or hard of hearing, offers essential education for families and caregivers through our monthly parent-education series, “Caregiver and Me” parent-coaching and auditory-verbal therapy sessions.
Clarke Florida Services for Students who Attend Inclusion Schools
Services for Students in Inclusive Education Settings
Our services for students at inclusion schools support children from preschool through high school, providing individualized speech therapy, facilitating transitions to new schools and offering families the resources they need to help their child thrive in new settings.
Speech, Language Services
Individual auditory, speech and language services are available for children in inclusion programs, giving them access to the tools they need to thrive at school. Alums can return once a year for an evaluation at no cost to families.
Transitional Planning Services
Clarke Florida, a resource and school for children who are deaf or hard of hearing, offers Transitional Planning Services to help facilitate adjustment into inclusion schools, working with the student, their family and the school staff to develop appropriate goals and service delivery models for their IEPs.
Consulting Services
Our teachers of the deaf are available to provide customized strategies for success for students with hearing loss in inclusive education settings. Direct service models are available at the request of individual school districts.
Admission & Enrollment
We’re here to help you make an informed decision about your child’s education and communication.
You’ve researched our programs and services, and read about children and families who have found success at Clarke. You think Clarke could be the right place for your child. What happens next?
Contact us at florida@clarkeschools.org or 904.880.9001 to learn more about any of our programs.
Visit Clarke Florida
How students are funded
Children ages birth to three are funded by support from the Florida Department of Health and private grants. Students ages 3- 7 are typically placed at Clarke Florida through their neighborhood school and funded in partnership with state, local and private sources such as the Bureau of Exceptional Student Education (BESE) Discretionary Project Auditory-Oral Grant. Clarke Florida is a provider for VPK-SIS services and an approved school/provider with the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA).
Clarke Florida, a resource and school for children with hearing loss and their families, admits children who are deaf or hard of hearing, and provides services to our families regardless of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability.
Contact us at florida@clarkeschools.org or 904.880.9001 to learn more about any of our programs.
Visit Clarke Florida
Meet our Clarke Florida expert staff and see our dynamic classrooms in action!
Interested families are invited to tour our Clarke Florida site, where you will meet our professionals, see our acoustically-optimized space and learn more about our programs and services.
To arrange a tour, contact us at florida@clarkeschools.org or 904.880.9001.
For Current Families
Quick Access to the Resources You Need
As of Sept 28, 2022, Clarke Jacksonville is closed due to directions of Duval County and for safety reasons and concerns due to hurricane Ian. It will remain closed through Sept 30, 2022.
Check here for weather-related closing information.
Calendars
Clarke Speaks Up Blog
Clarke Speaks Up features upbeat stories from the Clarke community as well as up-and-coming news from our professionals in the field.
Talking About Florida Newsletter
Contact Clarke Florida
Voice/TTY: 904.880.9001
Fax: 904.880.9007
Email: florida@clarkeschools.org
Melanie Jensen, Development and Communications Manager
Email: mjensen@clarkeschools.org
Take Interstate 95, from north to south, to interstate 295, which is approximately 9 miles south of the Jacksonville center. Take I-295 North (Toward Orange Park) to the first exit, No. 3, (approximately 1 mile) which is Old St. Augustine Road. At the Exit Ramp turn to the right and go north on Old St. Augustine Road. Continue on Old St. Augustine for approximately 2 miles, passing through four traffic lights. Clarke is located on the east side just past Crown Point Road. We are located in the one-story, white, stucco building (The Doctors Center). Our office is Suite 8.
Start Interstate 10 East until it terminates into Interstate 95. Take I-95 South approximately 9 miles to Interstate 295. Take I-295 north and follow the instructions above.
Our Stories
Eliana
Eliana participated in Clarke’s tVisit® Teleservices Program for early intervention from six months of age through three years of age.
Read More »
Nora
Nora has congenital profound hearing loss and uses bilateral cochlear implants. She shines on stage in her school plays!
Read More »
Leighton
Like most caregivers who discover their child was born with a hearing loss, Nina and Spencer worried at first how...
Read More »Recent Clarke News
Tune In! On the Ear: An Audiology Podcast Features Clarke Program Director
Tune in to On the Ear: An Audiology Podcast hosted by Dakota Sharp to hear Meredith Berger, MSEd. SBL/SDL, Director of Clarke New York, lead a deep dive on Microtia/Atresia. Microtia is a small or absent pinna (outer ear), while
Tune In! Social-Emotional Learning Podcast Features Clarke Education Support Specialist
Tune in to the BIG PICTURE Social Emotional Learning Podcast to hear Sherri Fickenscher, M.S., LSLS Cert. AVEd, teacher of the deaf and education support specialist at Clarke, discuss the importance of social-emotional instruction and support for children who are
Clarke Teacher of the Deaf Co-Authors Article on Korean Immigrant Experience During COVID-19 Pandemic
Joo Young Hong, teacher of the deaf at Clarke, has co-authored a publication in the Natural Hazards Review, an ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) journal, titled “Perceived Vulnerability to Disease, Resilience, and Mental Health Outcome of Korean Immigrants amid
Clarke Events
Virtual Conference Featuring Clarke Presenter
Event Details: January 15 – April 15, 2023 Virtual Clarke Presenter: Britt Coffey, PhD, MEd View all sessions Meeting Student Needs in a Consultation-Only Model By Britt Coffey, PhD, MEd Increasingly, the field of deaf education is moving toward an
Week of the Young Child
Event Details: April 1-7, 2023 Celebrated Internationally Clarke joins the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) for the Week of the Young Child (WOYC), an annual celebration focusing public attention on the needs of young children and
May is Better Hearing and Speech Month
Event Details: May 2023 Celebrated Internationally Clarke joins ASHA and an international effort designed to raise public awareness, knowledge and understanding of the options available to those with hearing loss. Join the conversation on social media, tag @clarkeschools and add the hashtags
