Dorinda Rife

Education Programs

Superintendent

Dorinda is the Superintendent of Education Programs at the Perkins School for the Blind. In this position, she oversees the Education Directors in the Deafblind, Secondary, Lower School, Preschool, Educational Partnerships, Admissions, Licensing and Professional Staff Development, Health Services, Outreach Services, and Community Services programs.

Dorinda has been teaching since 1982, first as a high school Language Arts teacher, then a teacher and Orientation & Mobility specialist for school-age students who are visually impaired. Her teaching experience has dotted the west, including Oregon, Colorado, and Arizona. She has been the Principal for the Arizona School for the Blind for the past several years and particularly enjoys interacting with students and encouraging independence among them.

Dorinda’s university experience spans from undergraduate coursework at Pacific University in Oregon, graduate studies at Northern Colorado University, and administrative coursework at the University of Phoenix, to Pennsylvania College of Optometry coursework in low vision. Dorinda is certified as a Teacher in Special Education VI, a COMS and CLVT with ACVREP, and as a Principal. She has also been active in AER since the early ‘80s. She was awarded the Margaret Bluhm Worker of the Year Award for overall service to AER and the field of visual impairment in 2007.