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Compiled and edited by Stuart H. Wittenstein, Ed.D.
Superintendent, California School for the Blind
The ASB Chorus and Ensemble have produced a recording. An AIDB project, Mid-South recording studio donated studio time, with N-House Tape and Disc donating artwork. Songs included "Tennessee Waltz", "Summertime", and "O Pretty Woman/You Got it". "Many surprises await you on this recording. Great student talent exists at AIDB," President Joseph F. Busta said. "This is an excellent illustration of how barriers in life should not keep one from achieving goals and dreams".
The Directors of ASDB met in Flagstaff to obtain a national and state overview of policy and program issues affecting students who are Blind or Deaf. Dr. Tuck Tinsley described the activities of the National Agenda. Dr. Jane Fernandez, vice president of Pre College Programs at Gallaudet, provided a consumer perspective on the Deaf Education Initiatives. Larry Siegel, Esq., described actions needed to alter present practice for students. Dr. Randall, superintendent, guided the day long activity which concluded with Directors prioritizing elements of the National Agenda.
CSB piloted a return-to-district program for 4 elementary age students. A transition plan was created with full partnership with parents and LEAs that included direct continuing support from CSB during the transition period. CSB provided a teacher to work in the district with the students and technical assistance such as in-service training for the faculty and students at each school site and assistance with ordering materials and equipment. Parents and district reps are very pleased. The next step will fade CSB's teacher as the county's TVI begins direct support.
With the support and direction of the new superintendent, Mr. Clive Hodder, the W. Ross Macdonald School has developed a training and resource centre for individuals and families working with those with visual impairment and deafblindness. The Skills Training and Resource Centre (STAR) was implemented in September 1998 as a pilot project and is presently involved in the delivery of learning institutes, credit courses, and workshops throughout Canada and the United States. Please call the STAR Department at (519) 759-0730 (ext. 262 or 266) for further information.
(1) CSDB is celebrating our 125th year of educational excellence this year. The year's celebration will involve a series of activities and culminate in a formal dinner and reception in April. The school is also undergoing a physical renaissance with extensive renovations of buildings and grounds, and the dedication of a new computer network.
(2) Teacher Ladene Adams was selected as the Principals of Schools for the Blind (POSB) 1998 Outstanding Teacher of Students Who are Blind and Multiply Disabled.
The Hadley School for the Blind is planning the release of its 1999 Course Catalog! In
it you will find over 90 tuition-free distance education courses in subjects ranging from
English to physics to languages to recreation. It is available in braille, large print,
audiocassette, and on diskette. To receive a copy, call 800-323-4238 or e-mail Hadley at info@hadley-school.org.
A mandated legislative fiscal study and the Governance Task Force final reports have been submitted to the Indiana legislature, Governor's Office, and the State Health Department. The fiscal study focused on per capita expenditures, cost benefits, and possible consolidation of the school for the blind and the deaf. The Governance Task Force comprised of ISB parents, staff, alumni, state legislators, state officials, and union representatives recommended a change in governance for the school for the blind and the school for the deaf.
The Board of Regents has approved Iowa Braille's strategic plan to become a school focusing on short-term placement rather than extensive residential stays. The Board agrees that Iowa Braille should concentrate its funding and staffing toward serving the maximum number of students over a short period of time rather than enrolling a smaller number for longer placements. This corresponds significantly with the school's ever-growing outreach mission. Last year, Iowa Braille served over 90% of Iowa's students who are blind, visually impaired or multidisabled.
(1) After several years of fund-raising and lobbying the state legislature, KSSB is preparing to open a statewide Assistive Technology Loan Library to be operated from the Kansas Instructional Resource Center on our campus. Individual contributors, an estate, the work of local Lions and Lioness Clubs, and $100,000 in matching funds from the state made it happen.
(2) The NCASVH Cheerleading and Wrestling Conference will be held on January 14, 15, and 16 at KSSB, bringing student athletes together from 13 states.
Would you like a front row seat to see KSB Superintendent Ralph Bartley kiss a pig? No, this is not a misprint, and, yes, you read it right! To kick off the Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest, sponsored by the National Federation of the Blind, Dr. Bartley promised KSB students on November 4 that he would kiss a pig if they read 200 books by January 31, 1999. As of December 10, they have read 98 titles. I will send a photograph for the next issue if, indeed, Dr. Bartley smooches the porker!
On November 4, 1998, the Eastern Athletic Association for the Blind (EAAB) Swim Championships were held at Goucher College in Baltimore and hosted by MSB. Five schools competed this year: MSB, Perkins, Overbrook, WVSDB, and for the first time, the New York Institute. When the meet was over, the MSB girls swim team won first place and the MSB boys team won third place. New officers for the EAAB the next two years are: Donna Brown, WVSDB - President; Rhonda Bowen, SCSDB - President-Elect; Kim Michener, Overbrook - Secretary; and Lou Tutt, MSB - Treasurer.
(1) Perkins has been "on the air". Students from the Perkins Lower School baked cookies in a live action segment of the WGBH cartoon show "Arthur". Secondary student Kyung Choi was interviewed for a special local TV station report entitled "A+ Student". Sokchea Prak was filmed for the "Class of 2000" segment of CBS Sunday Morning.
(2) Building renovations have provided wonderful new locations and expansion possibilities for the Perkins Preschool Program and for the Outreach Program.
During the week of March 2, 1998, Dow Hall was demolished. Dow Hall served as the school building of MSAB for over 100 years. As sad as it was to watch the building fall, a new memorial exhibit area is almost completed on the Dow Hall site. The area will feature many architectural elements of Dow Hall to help us all remember its importance in the education of blind/visually impaired people of Minnesota. Landscaping and other final touches are scheduled to be completed in the Spring of 1999. A celebration of the exhibit area will be held near the end of this school year.
In October 1998 MSB hosted a Weekend with the Experts which focused on developing an action plan for addressing the statewide needs of learners who are visually impaired. Approximately 90 stakeholders including general and special educators, related service providers, rehabilitation staff, private agency staff, consumer, and family members participated in the Summit. Keynote speaker, Dr. Phil Hatlen, described the goals of the National Agenda. Recommendations from the Summit will be forwarded to a State Ad Hoc Committee on blindness for development of a strategic plan.
MSDB is a busy place offering a continuum of services. Five classrooms serve 23 students. 1/3 of these students also attend inclusion classrooms. Other students from around the state are served by 3 consultants. Our newest attempt to better serve these outreach students is to schedule them in to spend short times on campus for needed instruction then return to their home school. This past summer two institutes were held on campus. The first one featured Frances Mary D'Andrea and Bill Muir and the second included Van Dijk training, computer access, and curriculum for multihandicapped blind students.
On December 11, the Nebraska State Board of Education approved the recommendation by the Planning Team for Statewide Services for Educating Children to develop the Nebraska Center for the Education of Children who are Blind or Visually Impaired as an entity that improves and expands services across NE. The "Center" will offer the following services: residential, local school support/center-based school/public school combination, summer and weekend programs, assessment and evaluation, instructional materials and technology support, teacher training and professional development, and consultation.
St. Joseph's School for the Blind was featured on a nationally broadcast ESPN segment on October 17, 1998, the first game day for the World Series. The school's 8th Annual Phil Rizzuto Celebrity Charity Golf Classic was filmed by ESPN in September of 1998 and the network spent an additional day at St. Joseph's with Phil Rizzuto visiting with students and viewing the school's programs and facilities. The five-minute segment was aired at 10:00 a.m. as part of the ESPN Sports Center Program.
NMSVH has started a Braille literacy program for staff. The program, "Braille is Beautiful", will be offered at three levels: Braille Awareness, Braille Grade 2, and a Braille Refresher Course. All staff will participate. Teaching, diagnostic and dorm staff will become proficient in Grade 2 Braille. Clerical, food service, financial, grounds and plant management staff will master Braille Awareness.
What happens when the reading of Julius Caesar coincides with the celebration of Halloween? The Roman Forum was recreated in the classroom with cardboard columns, marble contact paper, and great, energetic imagination. The English Department decided to stage the tragedy complete with dialogue, action, costumes, props, horror movie music and toga party for the cast. The culminating education goal was to discuss the literature for life question which examined the powerful main character in conflict with his noble, idealistic counterpart.
The 1998-99 school year is proving to be unprecedented for The Governor Morehead School:
(1) Brad Peterson named NC Technology Educator of the Year Award by SBOE,
(2) Legislative authorization of first teacher salary supplement, final leg of birth-age 5 expansion of GMS Preschool to all 100 counties, and a share of ABCs Plan funds for assistance team/technology/alternate tests/consultants, and
(3) first NC school under IDEA to offer VI courses via distance learning with NCCU through TLCF.
Families of Children with Visual Impairments (FOCVI) held the first annual family weekend in Bismarck, ND on October 16-17. Ten families from across the state of North Dakota participated in the event. Events included: poolside social which gave parents a chance to network and children a chance to swim and ride the water slide; parent sessions on Ophthalmology Issues, Parental Rights in Education, and Vocational Rehabilitation; pizza luncheon; parent forum to discuss their concerns; video games, bumper cars, and social times for the children.
OSSB, the Ohio School for the Deaf, the Ohio Resource Center for Low Incidence and Severely Handicapped, the Ohio Department of Education's Division of Professional Development and Licensure, and the Ohio State University collaborated to provide a Summer Institute on Sensory Disabilities. The Institute offered three week-long courses for certified general education, special education, and technology teachers from throughout OH. A total of 72 teachers participated in the summer program.
Four OSB students attended Space Camp this year, with two students attending the advanced academy. Seven members of the school's jazz band are also members of the newly formed All City Jazz Band, which consists of students from area public schools. The elementary classes presented two performances of this year's holiday play entitled "Santa Sings the Blues". The OSB faculty have recently hosted two training sessions for teacher assistants who are working with V.I. students enrolled in schools throughout the state.
OSB and the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind have developed a partnership for students. In May five students and two staff traveled to Oregon to spend a few days with students from OSB on the Oregon coast, learning about a very different environment and animal life. The students were able to visit the tide pools, take a trip on the Discovery Boat (where we also met up with students from the Washington School for the Blind), see and touch sea life, do hands-on activities with clams and starfish, and have a BBQ while watching the sun set over the ocean. In October students and staff from Oregon are scheduled to travel to Colorado.
For several years, the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children has been sponsoring a "Journal Club" for its professional employees. Six times per year, staff are invited to read a journal article which would be of interest to members of a multidisciplinary team. Over continental breakfast, teachers, nurses, therapists and others have an opportunity to react to the piece. This approach seems to foster collegiality and the exchange of information among different professions.
Art students at the Overbrook School for the Blind had an opportunity last fall to show
their work at an exhibit in center city Philadelphia. The exhibit came about as a result
of a suggestion from a parent. In cooperation with a center city bank, 55 pieces were on
display in their main branch. Selected pieces from the exhibit can be viewed on our
website www.obs.org. To expand the cultural
arts program, teachers in both art and music are now using technology in their classrooms.
GOODFEEL is currently being used.
VSDB-Stanton middle and high school students are all involved in vocational skills this year! Students are taking classes, participating in on-the-job training, and working both on and off campus. We are helping to prepare our students for the world of work through these experiences and well-developed Transition Plans in conjunction with Virginia Department for the Visually Handicapped Rehabilitation Counselors. We know the attitudes and skills we help to foster will help these students meet with future success!
WSSB recently purchased a JAWS for Windows statewide license. The license was originally purchased for 20 sites and may expand to 30 sites before the school year is over. WSSB is committed to supplying JFW, a DoubleTalk external speech synthesizer, and the Grolier 98 to each site. The DoubleTalk speech synthesizer has been selected because it is inexpensive and easy to maintain. JFW macros have been written that make Grolier 98 accessible. We are willing to share these in inkprint and braille.
(1) WVSB hosted a Fall Conference for Educators of the Deaf and Blind on October, with 300 people in attendance. Concurrent sessions ranged from Technology to IEPs, Independent Living Skills to Space Camp, APH to Braille Music.
(2) A first for WVSB was M & M Week in October. Supported by the Mars Corporation, the Math and Motivation Week was inspirational to students and staff alike as math skits, activities, games, and programs motivated students to excel in mathematics.
(3) WVSB received large grants this fall to support both of School-to-Work programs and our nationally recognized Service-Learning project.
Vol 5 No. 1 February 1999 contents
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