A unique mission that benefits all

Carol Proctor Landsberg and her late husband Kent H. Landsberg created what is now Echo Horizon School/Echo Center to fulfill their vision of an institution where children with hearing loss could be mainstreamed with hearing children in a manner that benefited both. Thus, we opened our doors in 1983 with a well-defined mission statement:

The mission of the Echo Horizon School is to educate hearing, deaf, and hard of hearing children in an inclusive environment in which self-reliance and mutual respect are valued and encouraged. The curriculum is designed to be challenging and developmentally appropriate for each learner.

The founders looked to Dr. Madeline Hunter and her principles of effective instruction to create the best possible academic environment. In l985, Paula Dashiell, an accomplished educator who had trained with Dr. Hunter as a teacher at UES, was brought in as Head of School and has guided EHS through its growth into one of the premier private educational institutions in Southern California. A leader in the oral auditory field, Echo Center Head Vicki Ishida has been with the school for more than 20 years. Under her guidance, the Center has developed into one of the finest auditory oral deaf education programs in the United Sates.

Our founders determined that a student body composed of 90% hearing students and 10% deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students provided an optimal balance for an educational environment that would benefit both groups of children. Using this ratio, the number of DHH children is small enough for them to easily mainstream, yet their number is large enough for no child to feel alone. The success of the founding philosophy is reflected in the lessons of acceptance and inclusiveness learned by both groups of EHS students.