MassDevelopment

Perkins School Getting Big Bonds from MassDevelopment to Renovate 2 Buildings

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MassDevelopment announced it has issued a $4.1 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of Perkins School for the Blind, a Watertown educational service provider for individuals with visual impairment. Perkins is using bond proceeds to renovate two school buildings, including adding a second elevator and a universally accessible entrance; designing a new lunch room in the school’s Hilton building; and building and renovating classrooms and bathrooms and upgrading the HVAC system in its Howe Building. TD Bank purchased the bond. “For nearly two centuries, Perkins School for the Blind has opened doors to education, employment and independence for people living with blindness and deafblindness,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. “MassDevelopment is pleased to support improvements to the school that will allow it to better serve its community in the years to come.”

Entertainment

NBC Offering Live Descriptions of Rio Olympics for the Blind

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This year’s Summer Olympics will be easier for the visually impaired to enjoy as the broadcasts will be available with detailed audio descriptions of the action. 

Kim Charlson, director of the Perkins School for the Blind’s Library, sent out information about how to access the video description. The descriptions are available for Xfinity Comcast subscribers who have SAP available devices. Go to the cable Audio settings, hit SAP language and select Video Description. NBC will have the video description on its primetime coverage of the Rio Olympics. Xfinity customers will also be able view the Opening and Closing ceremonies on demand with the descriptions the day after they air.

Around Town

Revels Joins Perkins School for 16th Annual Celebration of Spring Concert

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Revels and Perkins School for the Blind’s 16th annual presentation of “A Celebration of Spring” will be held on Thursday May 26 at 7:30 p.m.

Directed by Patrick Swanson;  Music Direction by George Emlen, the concert will be at Perkins School for the Blind in Dwight Hall, 175 No. Beacon Street, Watertown. Admission is FREE! Join us as Revels partners with Perkins School for an inspiring and memorable music-filled Celebration of Spring. This hour-long performance of seasonal music and dance will feature the Perkins Secondary Chorus (Arnie Harris, director), Revels Singers, song leader and musician David Coffin, a young rapper sword team, and a great band of musicians.  And it wouldn’t be a Revels celebration of spring without morris dancing and a visit from the ancient and mysterious Padstow ‘Obby ‘Oss, all the way from Cornwall, England! Revels’ partnership with Perkins School these many years has been rewarding in so many ways.  We hope you can share the joy of this special evening with us.

Schools

Perkins School Gets Grant From Google to Help the Blind Locate Bus Stops

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Google has provided Perkins School for the Blind with a $750,000 grant to develop a cell phone app to help blind people find bus stops and other specific spots. 

The grant comes from the Google Impact Challenge: Disabilities, and will be able to be more precise than the GPS available on cell phones, according to the article on Perkins website. Designers will work on the app over the next year. Read the entire article by clicking here.

Government

State Legislators Get and Inside Look at Perkins School for the Blind

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State representatives and senators from around Massachusetts got a closeup look at what goes on at Perkins School for the Blind this week on Legislator’s Day. 

The Watertown-based school and Massachusetts Association of 766 Approved Private Schools (MAAPS) invited elected officials with students who attend the school to visit campus on Tuesday. Among those who attended were Watertown’s state representatives – John Lawn and Jonathan Hecht – as well as Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo. They got to meet students and visit classrooms to see what Perkins students are learning. Perkins School for the Blind does not just teach students the academic subjects, Power said, they also teach students how to live independently after they leave Perkins. “Every class session includes social skills, self-determination and assisted technology,” Power said.

Schools

Perkins School Hosting Workshop on Assistive Technology

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Perkins School for the Blind is hosting a workshop on Assistive Technology for Disability Services Staff on Feb. 1. This workshop training provides:

An overview of low vision, blindness, deaf/hard of hearing, and literacy related hardware and software
Hands-on sessions with a variety of assistive technology software and devices, including innovative products new to the market within the last 12 months
Presentation and discussion of case studies involving students with visual, hearing and multiple disabilities
Introduction/discussion of accessibility features for iPhones, iPads  and other Apple devices
Website and course content accessibility including review and preparation for WCAG 2.0 guidelines
An opportunity to meet and network with other professionals from local colleges and universities who are involved in disability services

There is a $75 fee for this workshop, which includes lunch. For more information contact Ellen Hall, Business Development Manager, Perkins Solutions, 617-972-7748, ellen.hall@perkins.org

Entertainment

Perkins School’s Free Holiday Concert is Open to the Public

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The Perkins School for the Blind will hold two holiday concerts at 3 p.m. Dec. 6 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8 at Dwight Hall, 175 North Beacon St. The Perkins School for the Blind orchestra, handbell ensemble, student chorus and chamber singers will perform holiday music featuring traditional and popular classical, barbershop harmony and seasonal carols sung in Spanish, Hebrew and Latin. The school will also host a marketplace with logo items and handmade gifts as well as refreshments from the Perkins bakery.

Schools

Perkins School Named One of Top 50 Schools for Special Needs

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Perkins School for the Blind has a top reputation for working with students with special needs, and that status has been confirmed by a national ranking of such schools. 

The Masters’s in Special Education included Perkins in its list of top private schools in the nation for children with special needs. Along with providing itinerant services, independence courses for students who attend public schools, evaluations, and training for educators and other professionals, Perkins serves the world’s largest concentration of students with CHARGE syndrome, which causes complex birth defects including hearing and vision impairments, according to the site. The ranking were  based on the following factors:

Schools were licensed and/or accredited by an appropriate entity relative to the types of services they provide. Schools offer a low faculty to student ratio allowing for individualized instruction when possible. In all programs, the opportunity for 1:1 intensive therapy and additional supports were evident.