The story of a mother's love for her child is the origin of Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children. There were few educational options for the deaf when Dela and John White discovered in 1945 that their daughter, Tuleta, was born with profound hearing loss. Mr. and Mrs. White believed that if given the opportunity, children who are deaf or hard of hearing could learn to talk and live a full, self-reliant life. New to education and hearing loss, Mrs. White enlisted the support of a cadre of volunteers and organizations. In 1947, Sunshine Cottage opened its doors with seven students. Mr. and Mrs. White’s belief remains at the heart of our mission. Sunshine Cottage has grown into a respected auditory/oral school and gained significant national and international recognition as well.
travel to the John Tracy Clinic School for the Deaf in California for Tuleta to enter their 3-month summer program to learn to talk and communicate in the hearing world. The Tracy Clinic has not, prior to Tuleta, accepted any child younger than three years old.
organizations were eager to contribute to San Antonio's growth and well-being. The Junior League of San Antonio adopted Sunshine Cottage as a project and was instrumental in its opening, by lending financial, volunteer and moral support.
over a 3-year period to establish Sunshine Cottage as a pilot school program for children with hearing loss. The Junior League is instrumental in the opening of the school, lending their financial, volunteer and moral support.
on the Landa Library property is donated to be used as a schoolhouse and a local hardware store donates yellow paint for the school.
by Mr. and Mrs. John H. White, Sr. on June 16th, 1947. The School is named Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children. A whole new world is opened to children who are hearing impaired. The school opens as a summer school and begins with six students and one summer-school teacher, Miss Van Wyck. A seventh student is enrolled the next semester. The first seven students are: Tuleta Chittim White, Carolyn Reagan Wills, Barbara Baer, Mary Katherine Yost, and Masters Paul Mills, Wally Mallay and Tom Lewis.
2.12 acres of land on Alamo Stadium Drive for $1,500 in back taxes. The gift given to Sunshine Cottage to purchase the land was given by Mr. Preston Northrup. Mr. L.A. Nordan and others pledge $150,000 to build a new school building. Sunshine Cottage 1951 Newsletter, Vol. I, No.4
Mrs. White procured the caretaker's cottage of Landa Library, near Trinity University. With the elbow grease of parents and other volunteers, it became usable; a local paint store supplied free paint, all yellow. Hence it was dubbed Sunshine Cottage. The school of seven children and one teacher quickly grew and needed a larger home. At a single dinner party community leaders, learning how well Sunshine Cottage students were progressing, raised enough money to break ground on the school that stands today. The new building was completed in 1952. In both 1957 and 1985, expansions to the school were made.
is installed. More classrooms are planned to follow. The room has acoustic tiling on the walls, carpeting on the floor, and suspended ceiling microphones. New desks have front fittings for earphones. Sunshine Cottage 1955 Newsletter, Vol. I, No.5
‘Texas in Review” features Sunshine Cottage. Humble Oil Company gives a complimentary copy of the film to Sunshine Cottage. Sunshine Cottage 1956 Newsletter, Vol. III, No.1 and 1956 Newsletter Vol. III, No. 2, and Sunshine Cottage 1957 Newsletter Vol. III, No. 5
with an open house hosted by Mrs. L.A. Nordan and Mrs. Preston G. Northrup. Mrs. Spencer Tracy, Mr. and Mrs. John H. White, Sr., and Miss Tuleta White are the honored guests. Sunshine Cottage 1957 Newsletter, Vol. III, No.8 and Sunshine Cottage 1957 Newsletter, Vol. III, No. 10
is established. Sunshine Cottage 1957 Newsletter, Vol. IV, No.3
of students are integrated into Robert E. Lee Junior High School. This is the first time that a class, as an entire group, has been able to enter a hearing school in the public school system. Sunshine Cottage 1958 Newsletter, Vol. V, No.1
is complete. This 7,000 square-foot addition to the building adds six new classrooms and a library. Faculty members have a separate restroom, a small lounge, a kitchenette. Students have a new science room and a new rhythm room. Classrooms have green chalkboards, cork tack board, and acoustical tiles on the walls and ceilings. Suspended from the ceilings are the new microphone cord that move on two small tracks across the length of the room. Headphone can now be plugged into the floor outlets and outlets are recessed into the boards. The rhythm room has a wooden floor and is an offset of the new addition is the library alcove. Co-Chairman of the Building Program are Mrs. Theo Pinsion and Mr. L.R. Eastman. Sunshine Cottage 1958 Newsletter, Vol. V, No. 4
fully accredited by the Texas Education Agency. Sunshine Cottage 1959 Newsletter, Vol. V, No.8
between Trinity University and Sunshine Cottage are underway. Sunshine Cottage 1959 Newsletter, Vol. VI, No. 2
on April 17th and Sunshine Cottage is now installed in our new quarters. The children enter the new school for the first time on Friday, April 18th. Sunshine Cottage celebrated our new school with a ribbon cutting ceremony and an open house. The new facility has four classrooms and is designed to serve about 30 students. The original structure remains in use today. Sunshine Cottage 1952 Newsletter, Vol. II, No.7
after 14 years teaching at Sunshine Cottage. Sunshine Cottage 1966 Newsletter, Vol. XII, No.10
their new neighbors, the 16-story Olmos Towers Apartments. Sunshine Cottage 1966 Newsletter, Vol. XII, No.10
begins to teach babies and toddlers with a hearing loss. For the first time, Sunshine Cottage expands its program to infants. Sunshine Cottage 1966 Newsletter, Vol. XIII, No.2
is crowned the “Valley Queen”. Sunshine Cottage 1967 Newsletter, Vol. XIII, No.5
Mr. John Thomas Steen, visits Sunshine Cottage. Sunshine Cottage 1967 Newsletter, Vol. XIII, No.9
and most up-to-date auditory equipment – the Zenith Tel-a-Group Induction Loop Training and Communication System. It is installed due to the generosity of the Charity Ball Association of San Antonio. Sunshine Cottage 1967 Newsletter, Vol. XIV, No.1
with the Department of Education at Trinity University. Sunshine Cottage 1969 Newsletter, Vol. XVI, No. 1
its 30th Anniversary on June 16th, 1977 with an Outdoor Fiesta and a candlelight party.
and the Sunshine Cottage house is built and remodeled. Sunshine Cottage 1978 Newsletter, Vol. XXIV, No. 1
during the summer of 1978. Sunshine Cottage 1978 Newsletter, Vol. XXV, No. 1
is complete. The old parent cottage has vanished and a charming new house replaces it. Sunshine Cottage 1984 Newsletter, Vol. XXXIII, No. 1
cochlear habilitation to students of other schools. Sunshine Cottage 1995 Newsletter, Vol. XXXXIVI, No. 3
opens its doors to the public, a center that tests infants for hearing loss.
the Newborn Hearing Evaluation Center with an open house. The Center is blessed by Rev. Ted Schroeder and Rabbi David Jacobson. The Center was made possible by gifts from the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation, St. Luke’s Lutheran Health Ministries, and the San Antonio Area Foundation, among many others.
in 2007 we embarked on our successful $20 million capital campaign. Construction began in March 2009.
at 603 E. Hildebrand Ave. in August 2010.
The H-E-B Excellence in Education award for Best Early Childhood Program!
