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.

Entertainment

Revels Joining Perkins School for Free Celebration of Spring

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Celebrate the coming of spring with a free concert featuring the Revels and students from Perkins School for the Blind. The concert will be held on Thursday, May 28, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. in Dwight Hall at Perkins School for the Blind’s, 175 N. Beacon St., Watertown. Admission is FREE

This hour-long performance of seasonal music and dance will feature the Perkins School Secondary Program Chorus (Arnie Harris, director), The Revels Singers, song leader and musician David Coffin, guest soloists 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 for the Blind these many years has been rewarding for all of us in so many ways.

Around Town

Trouble Reading Regular Print, Find Out How to Use Perkin’s Library

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The Perkins Library has a collection for people with difficulty reading regular print and you can find out more at an information session on April 8. The Perkins Library is a free public library and its collection is available to for anyone who has difficulty reading regular print. Kim Charlson, Director and Debby King, Library Outreach Coordinator, will provide an overview of all the services available on Wednesday, April 8 at 7 p.m. at The Apartments at Coolidge School, 319 Arlington St., Watertown during a presentation called “Reading Never Sounded So Good.”

Around Town

Watertown Runner Honored by the Boston Celtics

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Legally blind since she was a child, Watertown’s Marla Runyan did not let her impairment stop her from reaching her goals as a long-distance runner. 

On March 4, the Boston Celtics honored Runyan before the game against the Utah Jazz. In 2000, Runyan became the first legally blind athlete to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team. She ran in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games and stands as the only woman to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic games. She was the top American finisher in the Twin Cities, New York, Chicago and Boston Marathons. Marla now teaches at Perkins School for the Blind and serves as their official spokesperson.