You are viewing this document in text format. If you would like to adjust the margins or font to make it more legible or easier to print, we recommend that you save the document to your hard-drive. To save the document, choose "File," "Save As...," then select a directory on your computer. THE LANTERN SPRING 2006 Cover Sidebar: In this issue - Today's Miracle Workers, Sharing the Spirit, Someone Who Writes, How to Help Cover Photo Caption: A speech and language pathologist and a program aide work with children in Perkins Preschool Program. Inside Cover Sidebar: Please join us as we take a look at today's Miracle's Workers. MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT At Perkins School for the Blind we know a lot about the tremendous accomplishments of our alumnae Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan. We know about the famous stage play and film, The Miracle Worker. We also know that behind what is sometimes perceived as a miracle is in fact the result of hours, months and years of hard work. Every page of The Lantern magazine is filled with accomplishments that some might call miracles. We hope that you will come to understand that there is challenging work, unparalleled dedication and remarkable skill behind these accomplishments. This includes the children and adults we serve on campus, in the community and internationally. We are pleased to bring you an overview of today's Miracle Workers. They are teachers, program aides, and therapists. They are social workers and vocational teachers. They are all of our staff who work directly with Perkins students and those who provide valuable support. We are grateful for their dedication and the difference they make everyday. We hope you will be, too. On behalf of the students, staff, families, alumni, volunteers, and trustees of Perkins School for the Blind, thank you for being a part of the Perkins family. Sincerely, Steven M. Rothstein President Perkins School for the Blind CONTENTS: Today's Miracle Workers Sharing the Spirit Someone Who Writes Reflections at Perkins How to Help THE LANTERN SPRING 2006 VOLUME LXXV, NUMBER 2 TODAY'S MIRACLE WORKERS - 24 HOUR EDUCATION PLAN Remarkable things happen every day at Perkins School for the Blind. A baby learns to lift up his head without the incentive of something to look at. A mother learns that when her child turns away, he's not avoiding her but repositioning himself in order to better hear her. A preschooler takes his first steps with a training cane that looks like two upside down candy-canes. A young boy understands that the bumps beneath his fingers represent a word. A high school student uses a voice reproduction system on her computer to email her sighted and blind friends. A teenager who's deafblind begins his first day of part-time work. Some would say that these events are miracles. They're not. They are the result of hard work. They are the result of children trying to be their best and having faith in the possible. They are also the result of the guidance of Perkins' staff. In "The Miracle Worker" stage play and film, Anne Sullivan, a Perkins alumna herself, works tirelessly one-on-one with young Helen Keller. But in today's reality, at Perkins School for the Blind the more things change, the more they stay the same. Many children receive individual attention, such as preschoolers who are blind learning to eat independently and students in high school developing skills to triumph over being both blind and dyslexic. In addition, just as Helen Keller did, students of all ages and abilities in all programs learn through touch. Yet there is a profound difference between the original Miracle Worker and today at Perkins. While Helen Keller only had Anne Sullivan, Perkins students now have a group of professionals assembled around them. A Perkins education is 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Classroom teachers help with academic skills and preparation for today's rigorous standardized tests such as MCAS. Orientation & mobility specialists help students learn how to get around safely. Physical, speech and occupational therapists are key members of a student's team, as are psychologists, nurses and other on-campus health professionals. Program aides support students in the classroom, the dining room and getting ready for bed. Everyone works together with one goal - helping students reach for their best. Just as Perkins sent Anne Sullivan off campus to help Helen Keller at the child's home, Perkins staff today travels the state of Massachusetts, helping babies and toddlers in their homes. Today they also visit public schools to support mainstreamed students who are blind. Staff also train professionals across New England and write books used by teachers and families around the world. Anne Sullivan traveled overnight from Boston to the Keller residence in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Today, Perkins staff fly overnight to developing countries to help establish, expand and support programs for deafblind children and children who are blind with additional disabilities. Through the Hilton/Perkins Program, we train professionals to lead their own services for these children who too often are left behind. The legacy of Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller is thriving for over 70,000 people served directly by Perkins every year. Today's miracle workers are still the Perkins staff who work hard to help in so many different ways. SIDEBAR: Since our founding, Perkins School for the Blind has been the teacher of teachers. This past year we trained over 2,000 teachers and other professionals in public schools. To help ensure the future of teacher training programs at Perkins, we recently received a $150,000 challenge grant from an anonymous donor. All gifts and donations for teacher training will be matched by that generous donor. TODAY'S MIRACLE WORKERS PHOTO CAPTIONS: 1. A science teacher in Perkins Secondary Program helps students understand the concept of a circuit. 2. Social workers and teachers are among the teams that work with families in Perkins Infant/Toddler Program. 3. An orientation & mobility specialist helps a Lower School student learn to navigate safely. 4. A vocational teacher helps a student develop money schools in the Perkins student-run snack bar. 5. A Program Aide and a Secondary Program student. 6. A classroom teacher and student in Lower School. SHARING THE SPIRIT: EXCITING WAYS TO HELP PERKINS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND PERKINS SPRING 2006 GALA - A World of Possibilities... Begins on the Perkins Campus Wednesday, May 10th, come to campus to share the spirit of Perkins. Cocktails in our historic Howe Building, dinner under a tent, and performances by students make for a heartfelt and inspiring evening. Visit the "What's New" area of the Perkins Website, www.perkins.org, or call 617-972-7583 to learn about becoming part of our annual fundraiser and making a difference to the 70,000 people we directly serve every year. SEEING POSSIBILITIES The Perkins Strategic Plan 2005-2010, Seeing Possibilities, charts a dynamic course of strengthening services and reaching out. Please visit the "About Us" page of www.perkins.org to learn how Perkins sees the next five years of possibility. You can download the brochure or choose a text-only version. Join our vision, for as Helen Keller said, "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." In the next five years, Perkins will: ¥ Ensure that we prepare students for a changing and competitive environment. ¥ Reach babies, students and elders who are not receiving adequate services. ¥ Expand internationally. ¥ Build partnerships with advocates, donors and volunteers. HAVING YOUR CAKE AND EATING IT, TOO! Planned Giving at Perkins To learn more about donating to Perkins, receiving lifelong income as well as tax breaks, contact Alleather TourŽ at 617-972-7339 to subscribe to the Thomas H. Perkins Legacy Society Newsletter. Learn how you can increase your fixed income while also helping Perkins. You can make a difference at Perkins School for the Blind. We need your help. Please see below for ways to be involved. All we see is possibility SOMEONE WHO WRITES When asked by a Boston Globe reporter what she wants out of life, Katie Condo responded, "I want to be someone who writes something really good." Katie grew up with her family in Hull, Massachusetts, and has been a high school student in Perkins Secondary Program for two years. She plans to study to become a lawyer. This year Katie won a speech competition at Perkins. Here's an excerpt of her work. "My name is Katie Condo. I'm sixteen years old and I was born with a condition known as cerebral palsy which confines me to an electric wheelchair. To most people, cerebral palsy would be a devastation to themselves and to their families, but my family is special. My aunt once told me that she wasn't concerned about my disability, she was just happy I was alive. My family's positive attitude has carried me throughout my entire life, so I am not daunted by this big metal machine I sit in every day and neither are they. I can't speak of my family without mentioning my grandmother, Carol Conant, who is the epitome of positive; she is the glue that holds the family together. She is one of those people who can do everything, from sewing your prom dress, to hot-wiring your wheelchair. Our philosophy on the importance of family originates with her. We are taught that family is the most important thing, and that being together is a rare blessing that we should be happy to receive. Because of this attitude, she is the kind of woman I want to be, and even if I am only half the woman she grew to become, I will be happy. A couple of weeks ago, she gave me quite a compliment. She told me I would be the one to hold the family together after she passed away. I would be the one to have all the parties, fund the annual camping trip, host Thanksgiving, and carry on the family traditions. At first this prediction shocked me, but then I realized being so close to her, I had been preparing for this role all my life. Having a severe disability can sometimes make it difficult to get up in the morning because sometimes I think if I can't get up by myself, then what's the use of getting up at all? But then I think about people . . . like my grandmother, and I realize that maybe there really IS a reason to get up in the morning, and they have faith in me, so I should have faith in myself! Besides, I have to fill my grandmother's shoes someday . . . and those are pretty big shoes to fill." REFLECTIONS - Perkins people and happenings on and off campus MORE THAN HORSING AROUND Because the family meeting room of the Perkins Infant/Toddler Program is carpeted, two miniature horses did not have to wear their sneakers when visiting. The two potty-trained horses under 30 inches tall traveled from Hearts and Hooves of the Berkshires (in a truck closer to the size of a van) to spend a morning at Perkins with babies, toddlers and their families. The soft, gentle horses let everyone pet them or nestle close. Groups of families in the Infant/Toddler program meet once a week, and conversations are often about some of the challenges of having children who are blind, deafblind or blind with additional disabilities. The morning of horses was a morning of fun - and education - helping a baby learn that, even if she can't see it, there is an exciting world at her fingertips. THE JAZZ INSIDE US ALL Advanced music students at Perkins hung on every word and note when jazz composer/pianist Lisa Hilton conducted a Master Class. Hilton encouraged students to write music as well as play it, explaining that "music is about expressing what we feel inside. Think about something you'd like to express and how you can put that to sound. Create a story from that feeling you have inside." She also gave a concert for all of Perkins. "Most kids love jazz; all they need is to be introduced to it and they're happy and smiling." The faces of staff and students in the audience proved Hilton's words true. BRAILLERS IN KENYA Students who are blind or visually impaired in Kenya are getting valuable tools for independence. With support from the Hilton Foundation, The Safaricom Foundation donated 30 Perkins Braillers for the African Braille Center to distribute to the schools and education programs with the greatest need. Now hundreds of students will have the opportunity to use Perkins Braillers, the pencil and paper for people who are blind. Braille skills help build independent young adults who will help improve the lives of those around them. Thank you to all foundations, groups and individuals who are helping to develop a new generation of braille readers and society changers. A SNORIN' ROARIN' SLEEPOVER Outreach Elementary Weekends bring together students, ages 6-12, who are often the only children who are blind or visually impaired in their public schools. Music & movement, reading & recording at the Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library and an overnight for Boston students in the Franklin Park Zoo Tropical Rain Forest were all ways to make new friends this year. Everyone needs peers, so the opportunity to meet and share stories was invaluable and equally as thrilling as petting exotic animals, riding the Polar Express Train and producing an audiotape. Thank you to the Boston Foundation and The Baupost Group for supporting the zoo event and helping Perkins reach out to diverse and underserved communities. KEEPING THE SPIRIT ALIVE Perkins students know about the possibility of discrimination. They know it from their own lives and from their studies. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day strikes a chord at Perkins. At this year's celebration, Perkins chorus and chamber singers performed gospel songs, and a high school student gave a speech in tribute to civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks. Students were moved to hear Justice Julian Houston read from his book, New Boy, about being the first black student at his boarding school. "We have come a long way," said Perkins President Steven Rothstein in closing the morning's events, "but we also have a long way to go to make sure each and every one of you are not judged by your vision or lack of vision." THE WAY OF BRAILLE Braille is the key to employment and independence. Braille is literacy. It's reading, writing and communicating. "Braille revolutionized the lives of people who are blind, deafblind and visually impaired," says Kim Charlson, Director of Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library and chair of the Braille Authority of North America. Today that key is being lost. "Technology is both a blessing and a curse," says Aubrey Webson, head of Perkins programs in Africa and the Caribbean and Chairperson of the World Braille Council. "It has increased access to information, but at the same time will probably result in an increased number of blind children who are growing up illiterate. While most people would never imagine telling a sighted first-grader that she didn't need to learn to read because she could listen to tapes or computers instead, that's exactly what's happening to many children who are blind." Over 70% of blind people are unemployed or underemployed, yet 85%of those who are braille literate are employed. At Perkins, we believe that every blind child who can learn braille should be given the opportunity to do so. We teach braille in our classrooms, lead braille trainings for professionals and produce and distribute the Perkins Brailler around the world. To learn more about braille, please visit www.perkins.org and click on "What's New" to access Resource Packets that includes information on braille, or visit the Perkins history museum in the Howe Building of our Watertown campus from 1 to 4 on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. THE HEART OF JUMPING Perkins Annual Jump Rope for Heart is a win from all angles. Perkins students get important exercise, a vital part of Perkins' 24-hour education plan. Everyone has a chance to jump, including children in wheelchairs who get to roll back and forth over the rope or get a temporary lift from staff. The American Heart Association receives money raised in this student-led fundraiser. Perkins students enjoy giving back to the community, but above all everyone gets the satisfaction of helping. TECHNOLOGY-PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE The Web is a great equalizer for people who are blind. Speech translation equipment, screen readers and other devices make it possible for Perkins students to surf the Web and have access to the same information available to sighted people. Because computers, the Web and assistive technology open doors to further education and employment, Perkins has recently increased the number of computers and printers in all cottages. The Secondary Program residential cottages now have WIFI, wireless Internet access. As a part of Perkins 24-hour education program, students are surfing their way into the future. EVERYONE'S BEST FRIEND For two students in Perkins Deafblind Program, volunteering at Buddy Dog is more than good old-fashioned fun. It's an important part of building vocational skills. One morning a week, these two students travel with their vocational teacher/job coach to the shelter for dogs and cats. They help with feeding, cleaning and the essential task of petting the animals. The boys learn about keeping a schedule, accountability and responsibility. Perkins graciously thanks Buddy Dog and the 39 other local businesses that have provided job training to Perkins students. Thank you for giving Perkins students the chance to prove themselves. AFTER THE TSUNAMI Last year Perkins students and staff raised funds to help students at the Ratmalana School for the Blind in Sri Lanka whose family homes were devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami. We knew the teachers and children because the Hilton/Perkins Program had been providing technical and professional support before the disaster. Funds from Perkins students and staff have been used to buy clothing and household items for the families associated with the school and to provide food and books for all families of the village. In addition, the Hilton/Perkins program has increased its work with the school to open an additional classroom for children who are deafblind. The effects of the tsunami will be felt for decades. We are grateful that in one small way Perkins students and the Hilton/Perkins Program have been able to make sure that some of those effects are positive. HOW TO HELP There are many ways to make a difference at Perkins. Join others who are helping children and adults who are blind, deafblind or have multiple disabilities reach their greatest possible independence. Here are some ideas: ¥ Make a gift of cash, stock, or personal property. ¥ Make a gift online at www.perkins.org/donate ¥ Leave a legacy by remembering Perkins School for the Blind in your will. ¥ Provide yourself or your loved ones with income for life by establishing a Charitable Gift Annuity. ¥ Create an endowed fund supporting a special program. ¥ Donate through your employer's matching gift program or payroll deduction program. You might double or triple your contribution to Perkins! ¥ Honor a loved one with a memorial or tribute gift for birthdays, weddings, graduations and other important events. ¥ Volunteer by giving a few hours a month - or more - and find out how much of a difference you can make in the life of another. For more information on any of these opportunities, please call Jan Spitz at 617-972-7465 or visit www.perkins.org. INSIDE BACK COVER PHOTO CAPTION: Every year Perkins Outreach Services sends public school students who are blind or visually impaired to Space Camp in Alabama where one learns what it is like to be an astronaut. Photo credits: David Gordon, p. 13 (top); John Kennard, cover, 3 (top 3) 4 - 7, 9 - 11, 15; Perkins Archives, 3 (bottom), 13 (bottom), 14, 16 - 19. BACK COVER: Perkins School for the Blind Perkins School for the Blind was incorporated March 2, 1829. The school is an accredited member of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and the National Association of Independent Schools. It is licensed by the Massachusetts Departments of Education and Mental Retardation and by the Commonwealth's Department of Early Education and Care. Perkins School for the Blind admits students of any race, gender, color, creed, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, color, creed, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, scholarship, athletic and other school-administered programs. Perkins School for the Blind 175 North Beacon Street Watertown, MA 02472 www.perkins.org Tel: 617.924.3434 Fax: 617.972.7334 All we see is possibility. Editor: Robert Guthrie Change Service Requested The Lantern