[nabs-l] Frustrating High School Issue...

Wed Jan 29 13:36:51 UTC 2014

I have not read all of this, but is this about getting to your 
room?

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Carly Mihalakis <carlymih at comcast.net
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>,National Association of Blind Students 
mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 05:23:00 -0800
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Frustrating High School Issue...

Good morning, JJ,

You sound very anguished about this.  Is not simply asking a 
fellow
student not in option in your case? Seems like a no-brainer to me
for, I believe we oughtto strive for interdependence, proof that 
in
fact, we need each other.
after all, people like Martin Luther King himself observed that,
people often forget that life is social so why not reach out to 
our
fellows to find out which room you're approaching? Why the 
anguish,
JJ? I don't like to see you so anguish'd when you're about to 
begin
high school.  Please tell us about what is a presence within your
world, that is making this so hard?
for today, Car
408-2209-3239Greetings,

Arielle has already given you some great suggestions on 
navigating
your school without braille  signs.  I would add that the signs 
may
have tactile print on them already.  Check those out and see if 
they
will work for you.  Don't forget that it is also okay to ask 
people
which room you are about to enter.  I use this technique from 
time to
time.  These techniques will definitely work for you, but don't 
stop
your advocacy efforts for the accessible signs as they are a
requirement of the ADA and new buildings and retrofitted ones.

Finally, I do believe the National Center does actually have
Braille  signs.  I don't know about the old part of the building, 
but
the new part has some very nice signs indeed.

Respectfully,
Jedi

Sent from my iPhone

 On Jan 28, 2014, at 10:00 PM, johnnie Jean duran
 <johnniejduran at gmail.com> wrote:

 Dear National Association of Blind Students,
 As some of you are aware of, next year, I will become a 9th 
grader
 (freshman) at Alameda International High School.  This high 
school is a
 public school in Lakewood Colorado.
 While visiting the school for the first time, I'd realized that 
the
 area in which the 9th grade students have classes in, has no 
braille
 on the walls.  There are 2 pods, that look exactly alike, but 
there is
 no braille on each doorway to identify which room you are 
entering.
 This is going to be an issue for me because there is no way of
 identifying which room I am entering, or which pod I am in.  I 
brought
 this situation up to my TVI and ONM teachers.  My ONM teacher 
then
 informed me that she'd spoken to Alameda several times, and 
they've
 made it seem as if this issue was not a necessity.  My TVI told 
me that
 she would talk to the administration about this issue.  A few 
days
 later, she happily informed me that they were getting braille up 
on
 the walls ASAP.
 2 months later, while I am viseting the school with my 8th grade
 class, we took a tour through the pods, and still I did not see 
any
 braille.  At a parent night my Mom attended tonight, she brought 
up the
 issue to the Assistant Principal as well.  He informed us that 
he's
 been aware of the situation for several years, and then turned 
away as
 if it were not important enough to discuss.  He then told us, 
that I
 would be placed in a challenge room with students who have 
multiple
 disabilities.  I was frustrated with this issue because of the 
fact
 that I do not need to be in a challenge room.  I am capable of
 everything a sighted individual is capable of doing, and the 
only
 thing that is stopping me is that braille.  I feel like I am 
being
 underestimated, and I rfuse to be placed in a challege room when 
I
 don't need it.
 The NFB is my last resort, therefore as experienced blind 
students, I
 am asking for your help.  How would I take this situation to the 
next
 level?
 All advice is always appreciated!
 Thank you,
 JJ

 --
 Ms.  Johnnie Jean Duran
 8th Grade Student
 O'Connell Middle School - An IB World School
 Lakewood, Colorado, United States
 Member Of The National Federation Of The Blind Of Colorado 
(NFBCO),
 The Colorado Association Of Blind Students (CABS), and the North 
Metro
 Chapter of the NFB.
 Facebook: facebook.com/johnniejean.duran
 Instagram: jj_duran13
 Skype: jj.duran13
 Kik: jjd_13
 Twitter: jj_duran_13

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