Professional Development

Training & Educational Resources Program

Knowledge is most powerful when it is shared. Perkins School for the Blind trains more teachers, professionals and administrators working in blindness, deafblindness or multiple disabilities than any other agency in New England.

As a pioneer in the education of people who are blind, Perkins is committed to sharing the experience of its staff and its collective educational expertise with other professionals. We are producing a growing series of professional publications and on-demand webcasts, developed by experts in the field of visual impairment and deafblindness.

Perkins’ Training and Educational Resources Program supports our mission by bringing together the following initiatives, programs, and resources:

• Perkins Training Center: Conferences, workshops, and other training.
• Perkins Publications: We write and produce publications designed as training guides for teachers, family members and other caregivers.
• Perkins Scout: Explore reliable and authoritative online resources dealing with all aspects of living with blindness and visual impairment. 
• Samuel P. Hayes Research Library and Archives: The largest and most comprehensive collection on nonmedical aspects of blindness and deafblindness that is available to the public.
• Perkins History Museum
• Perkins Office of the National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness

Many of Perkins' staff members are active leaders in regional, national and international organizations and associations that advocate for education, accessibility and adaptive technologies. Through the Hilton/Perkins National Program we sponsor national conferences and work collaboratively to provide training to educational administrators throughout the United States.

Additional Resources for Professionals

Here are some of the other ways you can benefit from the expertise and collective knowledge of Perkins staff: 

• The Educational Partnerships Program provides assistance to professionals and families throughout New England by bringing together expert educators with parents, early intervention providers, school based personnel, and other agencies.
• The Perkins Panda Early Literacy Program® provides valuable tools to teach fundamental early literacy skills to young children with visual impairments, helping parents be more involved in their child’s development.
• Perkins' Assistive Device Center offers insight on the development of customized seating, games and educational materials for children with disabilities.