About Us
CEO/Superintendent's Message
Family Letter on Transportation Issue
October 14, 2022
Dear Lexington Families,
(Click here to view letter in ASL.)
(Click here to view letter in ASL.)
As you are aware, Lexington and other schools across the city have had issues with the NYC Department of Education’s OPT (Office of Pupil Transportation) yellow bus service. Many bus routes have experienced delays or, in some cases, not provided mandated bus service. Lexington has worked closely with OPT throughout the Fall to address the problems. We have filed complaints with city and state representatives and have had continuous contact with our OPT liaison and the bus companies.
On, Wednesday, October 12th, there was as an unfortunate incident involving the OPT yellow bus service. The yellow bus picked up two students at regular times. By mid-morning, the bus had not arrived at our School. Our Lexington Transportation Coordinator began to call the bus company, the bus driver, and the matron as is our protocol. Neither Lexington nor the bus company was able to make phone or text contact with the bus driver directly. However, the bus company was able to use its tracking system to locate the bus. Upon locating the bus, the bus company immediately sent a different bus driver to the bus and that driver drove the two students to Lexington. The students arrived at 1:40 p.m.
Lexington was in contact with the students’ families during the entire morning. Upon arrival at the school, our school nurse, and a school counselor, attended to the needs of the children including performing a modified health check. The police were contacted and came to the school. We understand that the bus company is dealing with the actions of its employees and that the bus driver will no longer be driving on Lexington routes. Lexington filed an official complaint with OPT and via NYC’s 311 hotline.
I will be holding a Family Town Hall meeting on Thursday, October 20th at 7 p.m. to discuss transportation issues and this incident in particular. The Zoom link will be sent later.
The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority. We will be working internally to support all of our students and their families. Lexington is working with OPT, our bus companies, our legislators, and city representatives to stress the gravity of this incident and ensure it does not happen again.
Sincerely,
Russell O. West
CEO/Superintendent
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the Lexington School & Center for the Deaf! We are a multi-faceted organization serving the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing community of metropolitan New York. Our agencies include Lexington School for the Deaf, Lexington Hearing and Speech Center, Lexington Vocational Services Center, Lexington Center for Mental Health Services and The Lexington School for the Deaf Foundation.
The Lexington School, established in 1864, is the largest school for deaf students in the state of New York. We provide programs and services for deaf students from ages 0-21, and hard of hearing students from ages 0-3, who reside in any of the five boroughs Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island, as well as Long Island. Lexington School’s programs include: Ready to Learn Parent Infant/Toddler Program, Preschool Program, Elementary School, Middle School, High School, Foreign Language Transition Class (FLTC), and Special Needs.
We have a dedicated group of faculty and staff who are committed to academic excellence and ensuring the success of each student. We continuously provide professional learning opportunities for our faculty and staff to remain on top of best practices in instruction in order to provide the best language models for our students. To support the whole-child approach, we also provide a wide array of opportunities and wrap-around services such as extracurricular programs & activities, career exploration, athletics, counseling, spoken-English support, transition services, academic and social clubs.
The school is a charter member of the 4201 Schools Association of New York - one of the eleven Section 4201 schools created by legislation to educate New York State’s deaf, blind, and severely physically disabled students. Each school has its own Board of Trustees and receives partial financial support for operations and programming directly from the New York State Department of Education. The mission of the Association is to enhance the future of New York’s children and advocate for the continuation of specialized services.
Lexington Center for Mental Health Services, established in 1980, is an Article 31 licensed provider of outpatient mental health services. The Lexington Hearing & Speech Center, founded in 1981, is an Article 28 provider of clinical services in audiology and speech-language pathology, as well as otolaryngology medical services. The Lexington Vocational Services Center offers job training, coaching and placement services for deaf and hear of hearing adults from metropolitan New York and New Jersey.
Lexington aspires to be an exemplary education, service, and research institution for the deaf and hard of hearing in metropolitan New York City, New Jersey and the nation. We seek to collaborate with the deaf and hard of hearing to realize their full potential in both the deaf and hearing worlds and take a leading position in concert with the deaf and hard of hearing communities in articulating the many challenges, opportunities, and needs for services for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Lexington School and the Lexington agencies are governed by an 18-member board, composed of both deaf and hearing parents and professionals who work with persons who are deaf. Board members serve without salary. The Board has specific responsibilities related to budget preparation, policy adoption and the hiring and evaluation of the Lexington School & Center for the Deaf CEO/Superintendent.
Russell O. West
CEO/Superintendent
Welcome to the Lexington School & Center for the Deaf! We are a multi-faceted organization serving the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing community of metropolitan New York. Our agencies include Lexington School for the Deaf, Lexington Hearing and Speech Center, Lexington Vocational Services Center, Lexington Center for Mental Health Services and The Lexington School for the Deaf Foundation.
The Lexington School, established in 1864, is the largest school for deaf students in the state of New York. We provide programs and services for deaf students from ages 0-21, and hard of hearing students from ages 0-3, who reside in any of the five boroughs Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island, as well as Long Island. Lexington School’s programs include: Ready to Learn Parent Infant/Toddler Program, Preschool Program, Elementary School, Middle School, High School, Foreign Language Transition Class (FLTC), and Special Needs.
We have a dedicated group of faculty and staff who are committed to academic excellence and ensuring the success of each student. We continuously provide professional learning opportunities for our faculty and staff to remain on top of best practices in instruction in order to provide the best language models for our students. To support the whole-child approach, we also provide a wide array of opportunities and wrap-around services such as extracurricular programs & activities, career exploration, athletics, counseling, spoken-English support, transition services, academic and social clubs.
The school is a charter member of the 4201 Schools Association of New York - one of the eleven Section 4201 schools created by legislation to educate New York State’s deaf, blind, and severely physically disabled students. Each school has its own Board of Trustees and receives partial financial support for operations and programming directly from the New York State Department of Education. The mission of the Association is to enhance the future of New York’s children and advocate for the continuation of specialized services.
Lexington Center for Mental Health Services, established in 1980, is an Article 31 licensed provider of outpatient mental health services. The Lexington Hearing & Speech Center, founded in 1981, is an Article 28 provider of clinical services in audiology and speech-language pathology, as well as otolaryngology medical services. The Lexington Vocational Services Center offers job training, coaching and placement services for deaf and hear of hearing adults from metropolitan New York and New Jersey.
Lexington aspires to be an exemplary education, service, and research institution for the deaf and hard of hearing in metropolitan New York City, New Jersey and the nation. We seek to collaborate with the deaf and hard of hearing to realize their full potential in both the deaf and hearing worlds and take a leading position in concert with the deaf and hard of hearing communities in articulating the many challenges, opportunities, and needs for services for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Lexington School and the Lexington agencies are governed by an 18-member board, composed of both deaf and hearing parents and professionals who work with persons who are deaf. Board members serve without salary. The Board has specific responsibilities related to budget preparation, policy adoption and the hiring and evaluation of the Lexington School & Center for the Deaf CEO/Superintendent.
Russell O. West
CEO/Superintendent
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Russell O. West
Headshot of Mr. Russell O. West, CEO/Superintendent, wearing a blue suit with white shirt and red tie
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