Webinar
Students with Vision Loss, College, and Transition — Where We Are and Where We Are Going
College Success @ Perkins presents a Learning Series for educators that examines best practices, explores areas for growth, and offers fresh approaches for visually impaired students, their families and professionals
A free Learning Webinar Series from College Success @ Perkins
College Success @ Perkins is leading the way to systemic change in our education system for students with vision loss.
Why? Because the college landscape has changed dramatically in the last 20 years — and so has the high school experience. The skills required to attend college and the expectations for students have evolved.
We invite you to join the conversation in our Learning Series webinars. In these sessions, leading experts came together to investigate the state of college readiness for students with vision loss, to examine best practices, explore areas for growth and offer fresh approaches for students, their families, and educators.
Your contributions are critical in keeping the college readiness conversation moving forward.
Over the course of these four webinars, we unpack the meaning of college today: identifying essential skills that students need to be “college ready,” providing ideas on how students can learn those skills, discussing how educators can better support this growth, and focusing on growth opportunities for students with vision loss.
Part 1: The Big Idea — State of College Readiness for Students with Vision Loss
College environments have changed — and so has the way students learn in high school.
The support that students with vision loss receive in high school may not exist in college. In this session, experts look at the current state of higher education and examine trends in programming in college to help us understand how to best support today’s students.
Part 2: Supporting Students to Develop the Skills They Need for 2022 and Beyond
Students with vision loss and other conditions (e.g., ASD, health conditions, learning disabilities, and more) need a number of tools in their toolbox to inform transition planning.
But do students have all the tools needed — and are they aware of what tools are available?
In this session, our expert panel examines the role of TVIs, special educators, VR counselors, and families in supporting early skill development to lead to greater independence — and introduces their favorite, usable skills that can assist you in supporting students to meet the demands of 2022 and beyond.
Part 3: Putting it all Together — Programs to Inspire
Several innovative programs worldwide support students with vision loss in developing transferable skills, to support them in preparing for college and beyond.
In this session, you will learn about these programs and be encouraged to consider how you can incorporate some key elements into your work with students now, to assist them in effectively developing and meeting their transition goals.
Part 4: What’s Next? Moving from Contemplation to Action.
Now that we’ve established the landscape, identified the gaps and challenges, and looked at programs that inspire, how can we take what we have learned and replicate it? How can we scale it up? In this session, we share ideas and identify a path forward.
Join us for this guided discussion — our goal is to bring together stakeholders from a broad range of experiences to create usable solutions for both immediate and long-term impact.
What are people saying about College Success and Compass?
Think College Institute for Community Inclusion
“Perkins School for the Blind and Accessible College have created an amazing resource for college students with vision impairments. Check it out and share with those in your network.”
Francesca, TVI
“[The College Readiness Resource Center] is a living, breathing document, designed to start an ongoing conversation with teams of parents, educators, counselors, and most critically, the student. It encourages educators to meticulously examine the great capacity of our students, to consider where they are now, their aspirations, their individual personality, talents, motivations, and then co-create bold, strategic plans for their journey forward. What I appreciate most about this resource is the responsibility it places in the hands of the student; they are invited to be honest, creative, risky — and with that, they are empowered by using this tool.”
Tom, Compass student
“I’ve loved the support in Compass, not only the program mentors, but also that we are weaving the students, parents, educators, and VR counselors together as one network. I’m walking out with a host of skills — social connections, mentors, and a new sense of what it means to be visually impaired in this time. It’s been beneficial to get blindness skills, but also to keep connecting with other visually impaired high school students with shared experiences.”
Gary, parent of Compass student
“Compass is paying immediate dividends for our son and our family! The program is practical and immediately useful, and the program leaders bring real-life experience that is reliable and helpful.”
VR counselor to Compass student
“Compass has been such a meaningful and helpful program to my client and his mom. Thanks for all the work you’re doing – mom shares that it’s been an amazing program.”
To learn more about College Success and our approach to college readiness planning for blind and visually impaired students, visit Perkins.org/College or email [email protected].
Join the conversation.
Our team is committed to changing the way students with blindness and visual impairment prepare for their post-secondary journeys. If you want to learn more, let’s talk.
Alumni perspectives
We’ve taken our learnings and turned them into programs that work and help families make informed decisions.
