Perkins' year in review: 17 photos from 2017

December 21, 2017

Byline:

David Gordon

2017 was a big year for Perkins School for the Blind. We launched Perkins International Academy, our most ambitious teacher-training initiative to date. We kicked off new programs like College Success@Perkins and celebrated 10 years of Taste of Perkins. We bid farewell to our largest graduating class in recent memory, and welcomed new students to our on and off-campus programs. Here's a look back at the many moments, large and small, that made 2017 one of our best yet:

Five lower school students, sitting at a shared desk in a classroom, hold up cut-out images of Presidents and First Ladies in a celebratory manner.

Lower School student Doryan and his classmates hold up cut-outs of U.S. presidents and first ladies during a history lesson on President's Day. (Photo by Alex Quessada/Perkins School for the Blind)

A teacher shines a light on an object in direct site of a teenage boy, who is in a wheelchair. This is a home school CVI lesson.

Perkins Itinerant Teacher Ilse visits Ryan in his Shrewsbury home. Ilse specializes in working with students with Cortical Visual Impairment, the leading cause of visual impairment in developed countries. This year, Perkins launched CVI Hub, on online resource for parents, educators and caregivers. (Photo by David Gordon/Perkins School for the Blind)

A teenage boy works with other teenage students to row a skull. The boy has a subtle smile.

Jack tries his hand at rowing during a Camp Abilities outing in April. (Photo by David Gordon/Perkins School for the Blind)

In the middle of a chaotic scene, where children are running around freely, a young girl holds one of two beeping eggs up to her ear.

More than 450 children and family members joined in the fifth annual – and biggest ever – accessible egg hunt in April. Here, Ryah, 10 of Dorchester, holds one of 300 beeping eggs up to her ear. (Photo by David Gordon/Perkins School for the Blind)

A middle aged man, dressed in a suit, flanked by two other middle-aged men in suits, touches the tactile globe gently. The man on the left is speaking and gesturing in an explanatory manner.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh becomes the latest celebrity to touch the Perkins tactile globe during a visit to school in April. Other admirers have included John F. Kennedy, George Bush and Helen Keller. (Photo by David Gordon/Perkins School for the Blind)

A young woman looks on as a secondary student, who is a teenage girl, uses one gloved hand to feel the bones of a whale skeleton, which is taller than the people.

Perkins Secondary Program student Bronwen touches a whale skeleton with Cape Ann Whale Watch intern Kaitlin during a field trip to Gloucester in May. (Photo by David Gordon/Perkins School for the Blind)

Two secondary students, who are twin boys in their late teens wearing a Red Sox T-shirt and a green t-shirt depicting a Green Line MBTA train, are all smiles and laughs on stage. Behind the twins, are a chorus of secondary students, all wearing different Boston themed t-shirts.

Student hosts Jamie and Jonah keep the crowd in stiches at the Perkins Possibilities Gala in May. The Gala raised $1 million to support education for students who are blind or visually impaired. (Photo by David Gordon/Perkins School for the Blind)

A group portrait outside the front entrance of the Howe Building. The building is featured prominently, while the group of people are relatively small at the bottom of the frame. The ELP's are wearing a wide range of formal clothing, representing numerous cultures.

Nine members of the Educational Leadership Program's Class of 2017 pose for a photo with Perkins leadership after a graduation ceremony in May. The international educators spent nine months living and working at Perkins before returning to their home countries to put their newfound skills to work. (Photo by David Gordon/Perkins School for the Blind)

A line of people, all dressed in white clothing with red belts, hold hands in a semi-circle. In the foreground, a secondary student, who is a boy in his late teens, looks up at the sky, eyes closed with a joyous smile and expression on his face, as if in quiet reflection.

Perkins Secondary Student Alex smiles during a rehearsal with the Cambridge-based performance group Revels. Every May, Perkins and Revels perform the "Celebration of Spring," a production filled with music and dance. (Photo by David Gordon/Perkins School for the Blind)

A middle aged man, dressed in a dark suit and tie, uses his white cane as he walks through a large, open lobby. Behind this man are two more people, one in a wheel chair the other in mid stride. All people are dwarfed by the large scale and open space of the lobby, which has numerous tall gold pillars and glass windows rising from the bank of glass doors.

Monthian Butan, a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, walks though the main lobby of the UN on his way to a panel discussion hosted by Perkins in June. During the event, Perkins International officially launched Perkins International Academy, an ambitious teacher-training program designed to end the global shortage of special educators around the globe. (Photo by David Gordon/Perkins School for the Blind)

Two secondary students, dressed in their blue cap and graduation gown, each hugs a friend.

Newly minted Perkins graduates Paige (left) and Kendra (right) celebrate after a rousing graduation ceremony in June featuring Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo as Commencement Speaker. (Photo by David Gordon/Perkins School for the Blind)

A young woman makes a hotel bed. There is a large hotel picture in the foreground on the left of the image, that creates an abstract feel, while the hotel staff member is smaller in the frame on the right.

Natacha prepares a suite for guests during a shift at Residence Inn in Watertown in July. The 21-year old high school student landed the job placement through Perkins' five-week summer program, World of Work. (Photo by David Gordon/Perkins School for the Blind)

A mother pushes her 4 year old son on a swing at a playground. Both the mother and son appear excited, with big smiles.

Perkins deafblind student Cameron and his mother Jessica play outside the Hilton Building over the summer. It was a busy year for the youngster, who got to shake hands with Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and was featured in a Perspectives Magazine article on parenting kids who are blind. (Photo by David Gordon/Perkins School for the Blind)

A two year old boy plays in a ball pit. Two arms, presumably his mothers, reach from the bottom of the photo to touch the boys feet. The boy, who is wearing glasses, is laying on his back, covered in colorful balls, and has a large smile on his face.

Charlie, 2, plays in the ball pit in October. Charlie is a student in Perkins' Infant-Toddler Program, which offers educational services and family support during the earliest years of development. (Photo by David Gordon/Perkins School for the Blind)

A lower school student, who is a boy wearing a grey t-shirt, reads braille with one finger. On the boy's left is his teacher, who is taking notes and smiling at the boy. There is a Smart Brailler in front of the boy.

Perkins Lower School student Brayden works with his teacher on a braille lesson using the Perkins SMART Brailler®, a digital version of the classic Perkins Brailler that has become a crucial literacy tool for educators. (Photo by David Gordon/Perkins School for the Blind)

Two middle aged woman, one with both hands stretched out in a welcome posture and the second a few steps back with her hands folded behind her back, lecture on the TedX stage. There is a photo of a power boat and family speeding through the water projected overhead.

Perkins Diversity and Inclusion Speaker Jaimi Lard (left) takes the stage at TEDxBeaconStreet for the first time in November, delivering a 10-minute talk on the importance of inclusion. Lard, who is deafblind, was joined by her longtime interpreter, Christine Dwyer. (Photo by David Gordon/Perkins School for the Blind)

Keep up with Perkins news and events throughout the year on the Perkins Stories page »