[blindkid] Schools for the Blind vs. Education in Public School Systems

Kim Cunningham kim at gulfimagesphoto.com
Wed Jun 17 10:29:56 UTC 2009


I live in Texas and I know that it must be an ARD committee decision for your child to attend the School for the Blind. I can remember being fed up with the school district at one point and we really considered selling our home and moving to Austin so my daughter could attend TSBVI. I thought that we could move to Austin, walk into the school for the blind, and register my daughter to attend. I soon found out that it is not my choice, but the ARD committee. The school district must prove they are UNABLE to provide an education for your child. Our school for the blind pushes for the kids to stay in their home district. Also, I think that the largest population in TSBVI is children who have multiple impairments, so there isn't a large population of academic kids at the school. I'm not sure if this is a trend for all state schools or not. At the end of the day, my daughter decided to stay in the public school system. Now that she is entering her senior
 year in high school, I can see that we made the right decision to stay in the public school system even though our daughter is playing catch-up on her blindness skills. By staying in public school she has learned to advocate for her needs, learned to socialize with her sighted friends, and has taken part in numerous extracurricular activities that she wouldn't have had at the school for the blind. 
Kim Cunningham


--- On Tue, 6/16/09, dlambert at aristotle.net <dlambert at aristotle.net> wrote:


From: dlambert at aristotle.net <dlambert at aristotle.net>
Subject: [blindkid] Schools for the Blind vs. Education in Public School Systems
To: blindkid at nfbnet.org
Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2009, 2:39 PM


Hi everyone: 

Almost 10 days until convention. I'm very much excited about coming, especially since I haven't 
been in two years. 

But I wanted to pose a question that could possibly lead to some research later on. 

In determine what type of education you would receive, were you given an opportunity to provide 
input as to whether a school for the blind was a good option vs. an education in a public school 
system. What were your experience in which ever educational setting you ended up in? Looking 
back, what would you have changed or wanted to have happen? 

Any input would be great. I'll provide my input publicly later on, but just wanted to get a feel 
for the range of experiences people may have. 

Thanks 

Denna Lambert 

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