Final answer:
Thomas Gallaudet established the first deaf school in America with Laurent Clerc, a French deaf teacher, leading to significant developments in education for deaf students.
Step-by-step explanation:
Thomas Gallaudet set up the first deaf school in America with the help of Laurent Clerc, a French teacher who was deaf. They met in Europe, and Clerc agreed to return to the United States with Gallaudet to help establish the first institution of its kind. The school, known as the American School for the Deaf, opened in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1817. This partnership between Gallaudet and Clerc was foundational in the education of deaf students and the use of American Sign Language (ASL), exemplified by the bronze memorial statue representing Dr. Gallaudet teaching sign language to Alice Cogswell.