Excitement brewed outside the New Mexico School for the Deaf campus in Santa Fe Monday afternoon as students — dressed in signature red and armed with handmade signs — prepared to march.

“Honoring our past, shaping our future,” one sign read.

“Touching lives forever: a 140 year journey,” another said.

The ensuing parade — a cross-campus romp to the football field — marked the 140th birthday of the school, which initially had a student body of five. Now, the New Mexico School for the Deaf serves more than 150 deaf and hard of hearing students from 18 months to 22 years of age, plus additional children and families through its statewide outreach programs.

Monday’s milestone marked the “continuation of something great,” to put it simply, Superintendent Jennifer Herbold said, speaking thro

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