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Voices from the campus
The Education Leadership Program (ELP) is Perkins International's leadership building program recognized world over for empowering and enabling professional leaders in the disability space to practice their learning and knowledge in their own countries.
What it means to be a scholar in Perkins’ Educational Leadership Program
Millions of children who are visually impaired or have multiple disabilities need access to specialized education that follows their trail of learning. Perkins School for the Blind international programs is committed to bringing systemic change by training teachers and advocates from around the world. Upon graduation, Educational Leadership Program (ELP) scholars return to their regions to work with children with visual impairments and multiple disabilities, including deafblindness.
The ELP is one of the streams that Perkins follows to be a part of the United Nations’ global push to provide access to quality education for all children around the world by 2030, including the most vulnerable.
When Dr. Vijay Shankar Sharma arrived in Boston on 20th September, 2022, he had a dream. A dream that he hoped would set off immense possibilities for children with disabilities.
The heartwarming welcome at the airport and the Blue House of Perkins was the starting point. The mentors organized several visits to Boston downtown, Harvard University, and other places, followed by classes at Perkins and Boston College, including English classes for accent familiarization and American Sign Language.
Dr. Vijay’s interest in joining the ELP stems from his desire to learn about strategies in preparing teachers for MDVI. Students receive customized learning based on nature of work and future scope.
My perspective towards persons with deafblindness and multiple disabilities with visual impairment is undergoing change, and I have started looking at possibilities in every child. I strongly feel that in the rest of my stay at Perkins, new avenues will open up, which can be used in making changes when I am back.
Dr. Vijay
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