Mission, History & Affiliations
Mission
The Vancouver Oral Centre for Deaf Children (VOC) was established in 1963 to assist children with hearing loss to acquire spoken communications skills that allow them to listen and speak, becoming independent communicators and participants in the world at large. The VOC’s mission is to enable children with hearing loss to achieve a high level of literacy through auditory-oral deaf education and to enable them to have every opportunity to be successful academically, socially and emotionally.
History
In 1963, a group of parents, along with Hilda Gregory C.M., O.B.C, a gifted and dedicated educator of the deaf, founded the Vancouver Oral Centre for Deaf Children. The VOC remains the first and only independent school in Western Canada to offer oral deaf education. Through this method, the VOC has been instrumental in teaching hundreds of deaf children to listen and speak so they can live in the hearing world. Auditory-oral deaf education provides graduates with the confidence to pursue their dreams and education to the highest level.
The VOC was recognised as one of the outstanding programmes in North America by the Alexander Graham Bell Association in Washington, D.C.
Affiliations
The VOC is an independent special needs school with certification through the BC Ministry of Education (Office of the Inspector of Independent Schools) and the Ministry of Children & Family Development (Provincial Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing). The VOC is licensed by Vancouver Coastal Health as a Special Needs Day Care and Pre-school.
In 2005, The VOC received CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) Accreditation. CARF is a North America-wide organization whose member service organizations maintain and uphold a stringent set of quality controls for services and programmes offered. The VOC is proud to be accredited as it illustrates our commitment to ensuring that our children receive the best possible support and education available.
The VOC is a member of: Option Schools, the Federation of Independent School Associations (FISA), BC Association of Child Development & Intervention and the Council of Service Providers.
The VOC is a registered charitable non-profit society. Charitable # 11928 2044 RR0001
Since its inception in 1963, the VOC's mission has been to enable children to be successful academically, socially and emotionally.