St. Francis was started by Sr. Anne Behre on September 13, 1960 in a convent in Flushing, New York with four children. In 1963 the school moved to the Park Slope section of Brooklyn in order to accommodate more students. In 1965 St. Francis became a private state supported 4201 School, one of eleven schools serving deaf or blind students in New York State. In 1973 St. Francis moved to its present location on Eastern Parkway where it continues today to educate profoundly deaf children from infancy to eighth grade.

The five circles represent the five senses. The middle circle represents the sense of hearing. The flame in that circle represents the flame of learning which we seek to ignite in all our students.

St. Francis de Sales School for the Deaf is dedicated to encouraging the maximum potential for learning in each child regardless of race, creed, color or gender. This education embraces the whole child-psychological, physical, social and emotional.