History
Founded in 1947 by a Paul Boley, Harvard-trained attorney, whose daughter became deaf at the age of 18 months due to meningitis. Initially, Paul Boley enrolled his daughter in a preschool program at Portland's Hosford Public School for Deaf Children. At Hosford, he was introduced to Mrs. Alice Maxon who believed 'Deaf children can talk.' Mr. Boley dreamed of a school in Portland where his daughter and other deaf children could learn to speak. At the request of Mr. Boley, Mr. Max Tucker, president of Cascades Plywood Corporation sponsored the school during its earliest years. From its earliest beginnings in a converted bedroom in the Boley home to becoming a private boarding school during the 60's and 70's to its current model, deaf and hearing children are provided with the importance of listening and spoken language for a lifetime of learning.
Specialties
Tucker-Maxon is a nationally acclaimed oral education school providing education to hearing impaired & typical hearing children, attracting students whose families have relocated from all over the United States as well as Internationally. Students with hearing loss do not use sign language; instead, with the help of assistive technologies and trained professionals, they listen, talk & learn like their typical hearing peers. Ranked among the top schools in the country and valued for its innovative service and dedication to teaching deaf children to speak, laugh and sing, Tucker-Maxon has Master's level teachers and student ratios of 9:1. Daily Physical Education classes, weekly art & music classes, an open range coop for turkeys and chickens, and a large organic garden where children participate in planting, cultivating and harvesting. The environment is language-rich with many opportunities for open-ended discussions, critical thinking, & cognitive skill development.