<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Garret <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>James G. Mooney<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>President, Maryland Organization of Parents of Blind Children <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>(480) 433-8003 <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>james.garret.mooney@gmail.com<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> Melissa Sheeder <melissas@mdschblind.org> <br><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, November 5, 2020 7:09 PM<br><b>To:</b> mdpobc-request@nfbnet.org; james.garret.mooney@gmail.com; Teresa Graham <teresagraham3@gmail.com>; William Jacobs <treasurermdpobc@gmail.com>; Monica Rao <mandmrao@yahoo.com>; Chrissie Day- <cmdayrdh@aol.com>; stephaniecascone@gmail.com<br><b>Subject:</b> FW: COVID-19’s Impact on Education of Visually Impaired Children: You Can Help<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> Jeffrey Macak <<a href="mailto:jeffreym@mdschblind.org">jeffreym@mdschblind.org</a>> <br><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, November 5, 2020 5:55 PM<br><b>To:</b> Student Services <<a href="mailto:Student#032#Services@mdschblind.org">Student#032#Services@mdschblind.org</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> Fwd: COVID-19’s Impact on Education of Visually Impaired Children: You Can Help<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>FYI!<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>Sent from my iPhone<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><br>Begin forwarded message:<o:p></o:p></p></div><blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><b>From:</b> American Foundation for the Blind <<a href="mailto:communications@afb.org">communications@afb.org</a>><br><b>Date:</b> November 5, 2020 at 1:44:21 PM EST<br><b>To:</b> Jeffrey Macak <<a href="mailto:jeffreym@mdschblind.org">jeffreym@mdschblind.org</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>COVID-19’s Impact on Education of Visually Impaired Children: You Can Help</b><br><b>Reply-To:</b> American Foundation for the Blind <<a href="mailto:communications@afb.org">communications@afb.org</a>><o:p></o:p></p></div></blockquote><blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'></span> <b><span style='font-size:10.5pt'><img border=0 width=500 height=113 style='width:5.2083in;height:1.175in' id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577/images/f4fba1ce-e517-4ae9-931e-b20e9b723e5f.png" alt="AFB. American Foundation for the Blind. Expanding possibilities for people with vision loss."></span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p><img border=0 width=500 height=218 style='width:5.2083in;height:2.275in' id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577/images/8d3598ac-12ea-4002-b98c-f34736ca5a0b.png" alt="A school-age Black girl examines a variety of seeds on a plate while her science teacher and teaching assistant present a Zoom lesson. A school-age Multiracial boy sits in an adapted chair with a female adult sitting behind him. They are joined in an online meeting. An augmentative communication device sits to the left of the boy."><o:p></o:p></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>Let's Work Together to Ensure Accessible, Engaging, and Inclusive Education for Children with Visual Impairments</span></strong><br><br>The <a href="https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=25fdc459cf&e=b512340207" target="_blank">second Access and Engagement study</a> opened on October 30 and closes on November 22. We want all family members, guardians, teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs), and orientation & mobility (O&M) specialists in the U.S. and Canada to have the opportunity to share their experiences about education this fall. The survey takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. If you qualify, please consider taking it and inviting a family you know to take it too. Tell them why you think this survey is important. <br><br>The <a href="https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=736663c006&e=b512340207" target="_blank">first Access and Engagement study</a> report is available for free download. In addition to the full report as an accessible PDF, there is also an accessible PDF of the Executive Summary. Everything is also online by section, so if you want to point someone to a specific section you can do so. Each section of the report has recommendations.<br> <br>Speaking of recommendations, Dr. L. Penny Rosenblum, the lead author of the report, has put together a blog post on how you can <a href="https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=c81e7303a8&e=b512340207" target="_blank">use the first Access and Engagement report to advocate for students with visual impairments</a>. If we all come together, we can have a stronger impact on administrators, policymakers, technology companies, and others. The findings and recommendations in the first Access and Engagement report allow you to pair your own experience with data about 455 children and 1,028 professionals. That’s a lot of voices!<br> <br>Finally, do you know about AFB’s Town Hall on November 10 from 2:00-3:00 PM Eastern? The topic is Education Across the Lifespan. This is an opportunity to ask your questions and share your comments. The first three authors of the Access and Engagement report, Dr. Rosenblum, Dr. Herzberg, and Dr. Wild will be responding to questions and comments. It’s <a href="https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=e9e06b37d8&e=b512340207" target="_blank">free to sign up</a>, so please plan to join us.<br> <br>On social media use <strong>#AccessEngagement</strong> to share how you are using the report, encourage others to complete the second survey, or ask your questions. You can also email <a href="mailto:access_report@afb.org?subject=Access%20and%20Engagement%20Study" target="_blank">access_report@afb.org</a>. We want to hear from you!<br><br><br>Thank you,<br><br>AFB Communications<br><a href="mailto:communications@afb.org?subject=Access%20and%20Engagement%20Study" target="_blank">communications@afb.org</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:12.0pt;text-align:center'><br><br><br><br><o:p></o:p></p><div align=center><table class=MsoNormalTable border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="100%" style='width:100.0%;background:white;border:none;border-top:solid #E5E5E5 1.0pt' id=canspamBarWrapper><tr><td valign=top style='border:none;padding:15.0pt 0in 15.0pt 0in'><div align=center><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 id=canspamBar><tr><td valign=top style='padding:0in 15.0pt 3.75pt 15.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:12.0pt;text-align:center;line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:8.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#606060'>This email was sent to <a href="mailto:jeffreym@mdschblind.org" target="_blank">jeffreym@mdschblind.org</a> <br><a href="https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/about?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=ec813cd965&e=b512340207&c=cd64f2ecc8" target="_blank"><em><span style='font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif'>why did I get this?</span></em></a> <a href="https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=ec813cd965&e=b512340207&c=cd64f2ecc8">unsubscribe from this list</a> <a href="https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/profile?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=ec813cd965&e=b512340207">update subscription preferences</a> <br>American Foundation for the Blind · 1401 South Clark Street · Suite 730 · Arlington, Virginia 22202 · USA <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><p class=MsoNormal><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/msv5/images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" alt="Web Bug from https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/open.php?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=cd64f2ecc8&e=b512340207" /><o:p></o:p></p></div></blockquote></div></body></html>