School in Watertown, Massachusetts
Perkins School for the Blind
, in
Watertown, Massachusetts
, was founded in 1829 and is the oldest school for the
blind
in the United States. It has also been known as the
Perkins Institution for the Blind
.
[1]
Perkins manufactures its own
Perkins Brailler
, which is used to print embossed, tactile books for the blind;
[2]
and the Perkins SMART Brailler, a
braille
teaching tool, at the Perkins Solutions division
[3]
housed within the Watertown campus's former Howe Press.
History
[
edit
]
Founded in 1829, Perkins was the first school for the blind established in the United States.
[4]
The school was originally named the
New England Asylum for the Blind
and was incorporated on March 2, 1829. The name was eventually changed to Perkins School for the Blind.
John Dix Fisher
first considered the idea of a school for blind children based upon his visits to Paris at the
National Institute for the Blind
and was inspired to create such a school in Boston,
[5]
but it was founded by
Samuel Gridley Howe
, who had also studied education for the blind in Europe.
The school is named in honor of
Thomas Handasyd Perkins
, one of the organization's incorporators. He was a
Boston
shipping merchant and slave trader who began losing his sight about the time the school was established. In 1833, the school outgrew its first location, the Pleasant Street house of the father of founder Howe. That year Perkins donated his Pearl Street mansion as the school's second home. In 1839, Perkins sold the mansion and donated the proceeds.
This gift allowed the purchase of a more spacious building in
South Boston
. In 1885, 6 acres (2.4 ha) were purchased in the Hyde Square section of
Jamaica Plain
, a residential district of Boston, to build a kindergarten, with
Isabel Greeley
as its first matron.
[6]
This property was home to both
Laura Bridgman
and
Helen Keller
. The school moved to its present campus, in
Watertown, Massachusetts
, in the autumn of 1912.
Charles Dickens
visited Perkins in 1842 during a lecture tour of America and was amazed at the work Howe was doing with Laura Bridgman, a deaf-blind girl who had come to the school in 1837 from New Hampshire. He wrote about his visit in his book,
American Notes
.
In 1887, Perkins director
Michael Anagnos
sent graduate
Anne Sullivan
to teach
Helen Keller
at her family's home in Alabama. After working with her pupil at the Keller home, Sullivan returned to Perkins with Keller in 1888, and resided there intermittently until 1893.
In 1931, Perkins created the
Perkins Braille and Talking Book Library
(BTBL).
In 1951, David Abraham successfully manufactured the first Perkins Brailler. By 1977, about 100,000 Perkins Braillers had been produced and distributed worldwide.
Perkins today
[
edit
]
In the 21st century, Perkins has expanded its mission online to include resources for families with blind and visually impaired children,
[7]
and teachers of the visually impaired (TVIs).
[8]
Perkins has also worked with local partners in Asian countries to host an online community for educators, caregivers and families.
[9]
In 2011, Perkins completed construction of the Grousbeck Center for Students and Technology on its 38-acre campus in Watertown. This facility houses accessible technology for people who are blind or visually impaired.
[10]
In February 2016, Perkins launched Perkins Access, a team of expert accessibility consultants who partner with organizations across all industries to improve customer experience, employee experience, and brand engagement for all humans, regardless of age, ability, or means of access.
[11]
[12]
In July 2016, Perkins' "
Braille Trail
" was completed. It is located along the
Charles River
across the street from the rest of campus, and is part of the larger Watertown Riverfront Park.
[13]
In 2022, Perkins launched the Howe Innovation Center, dedicated to catalyzing and convening the "DisabilityTech" industry, including bringing together
startups
,
investors
, people with disabilities, and
market experts
.
[14]
Perkins International
[
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]
Perkins partners with local groups in 67 countries: schools, universities, NGOs, nonprofits, government agencies, and parent networks?to educate and empower people who are blind, deaf/blind or visually impaired, and who may have additional disabilities.
[15]
The organization disseminates resources, such as Perkins Braillers, funding, and expertise on the ground in these countries. One such example of this work in the African countries of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya is Perkins' role in the Kilimanjaro Blind Trust, Inc. (KBT).
[16]
Special educators from other countries are also invited to the Watertown campus every year, for an intensive study of blindness and multiple-disability education. They can take back current information to their respective regions.
[17]
Perkins Solutions
[
edit
]
Perkins Solutions concentrates on a broad array of assistive technology and accessibility assessment, training, and consulting. The range of Perkins Braillers ships to 175 countries and includes the Classic Brailler, the Next Generation Brailler and the Smart Brailler launched in 2012 with text-to-speech output, visual display, and applications for teaching braille. This subsidiary of Perkins also partners with associations for the blind and partially sighted, education ministers and resellers around the globe in an effort to provide accessible equipment?including Perkins Braillers, brailler repair and
assistive technology
?to all who need it.
[18]
#BlindNewWorld
[
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]
On May 5, 2016, Perkins launched BlindNewWorld,
[19]
a social change campaign aimed at helping the sighted population to be more inclusive of people who are blind and to make the world more accessible to them.
National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program
[
edit
]
On June 8, 2012, in conjunction with the
Helen Keller National Center
(HKNC) and the
Federal Communications Commission
(FCC), Perkins School for the Blind was selected to conduct nationwide outreach for the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP).
[20]
Mandated by the
21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act
(CVAA) and established by the FCC, the NDBEDP will aid individuals with combined vision and hearing loss connect with family, friends and their community by distributing accessible communications technology. Perkins' and partners' outreach campaign to educate people on this program is called iCanConnect.
[21]
It aims to inform the nearly one million people in the United States with some sort of combined hearing and vision loss on the types of equipment?e.g. screen-enlargement software, video phones and electronic refreshable braille displays
[22]
?available to them free of charge.
Affiliations
[
edit
]
Perkins Braille and Talking Book Library
works in conjunction with the
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
(NLS) at its Watertown chapter.
[23]
Perkins has collaborated with the
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
on a Web resource called PathsToLiteracy.org, an online hub for information related to literacy for students who are blind or visually impaired, including those with additional disabilities or deafblindness.
[24]
Perkins has collaborated with
Amy Bower
, a blind oceanographer and senior scientist at the
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
, to show students what it's like to be a blind scientist.
[25]
The international nonprofit has also worked with the
American Foundation for the Blind
to ensure that Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) be taught in mainstream schools.
[26]
Perkins is a member of the
Council of Schools for the Blind
.
Notable alumni
[
edit
]
- Joseph B. Smith, musician and the first blind graduate of
Harvard
.
[27]
- Robert Smithdas
, the first
deafblind
person to earn a master's degree.
[27]
- Anne Sullivan
, teacher of Helen Keller.
[27]
- Helen Keller
, notable deafblind activist and public figure.
[28]
- Laura Bridgman
, the first known deafblind person to be formally educated.
[29]
- Albert K. Gayzagian, the first former student and the first visually impaired person to be appointed to the Perkins Board of Trustees.
[30]
- Tony DeBlois
, musician and
autistic savant
.
- Tom Sullivan
, singer and writer.
- Don Deignan, historian and disability advocate.
[31]
- Cailin Currie,
paralympian
.
[32]
- Jean Sorel, polyglot educator, lawyer,
Radio Haiti
host, and the first blind graduate of the
State University of Haiti
.
[33]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"About Perkins School for the Blind"
. Perkins School for the Blind
. Retrieved
October 23,
2015
.
- ^
"Perkins School for the Blind History Museum"
. Perkinsmuseum.org. Archived from
the original
on December 4, 2013
. Retrieved
April 15,
2014
.
- ^
"Assistive Technology for the Blind"
. Perkins Solutions
. Retrieved
October 23,
2015
.
- ^
"History"
. Perkins
. Retrieved
April 15,
2014
.
- ^
French, Kimberly.
Perkins School for the Blind
. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2004. Print. Page 7.
- ^
MH (April 16, 1887).
"Where Boston Leads; Kindergarten for the Blind"
.
Boston Evening Transcript
. p. 10
. Retrieved
October 30,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Resources for Parents of Blind & Disabled Babies & Children"
.
WonderBaby.org
. Retrieved
April 15,
2014
.
- ^
"Welcome to"
.
Perkins eLearning
. Retrieved
April 15,
2014
.
- ^
"About"
. Transition Planning Asia
. Retrieved
April 15,
2014
.
- ^
Robert Campbell (March 18, 2012).
"A Perkins School building to navigate with multiple senses"
. Arts. The Boston Globe
. Retrieved
April 15,
2014
.
- ^
Blind, Perkins School for the.
"Perkins School for the Blind Launches 'Perkins Access'
"
.
www.prweb.com
(Press release)
. Retrieved
March 29,
2024
.
- ^
Perkins Access
- ^
"Watertown Riverfront Park and Braille Trail Project"
. DCR Energy and Environmental Affairs. August 1, 2014.
- ^
"Howe Innovation Center"
. Perkins School for the Blind
. Retrieved
May 1,
2023
.
- ^
"About Perkins International"
. Perkins International
. Retrieved
October 23,
2015
.
- ^
"Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Partners"
. Kilimanjaro Blind Trust
. Retrieved
October 23,
2015
.
- ^
"Educational Leadership Program"
. Perkins International
. Retrieved
October 23,
2015
.
- ^
"Assistive Technology for the Blind"
. Perkins Solutions
. Retrieved
October 23,
2015
.
- ^
"Perkins School launches new initiative"
. Boston Globe
. Retrieved
May 6,
2016
.
- ^
"National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program"
. FCC.gov. March 26, 2012
. Retrieved
April 15,
2014
.
- ^
"The National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program"
. iCanConnect.org
. Retrieved
April 15,
2014
.
- ^
"iCanConnect Campaign"
. Assistivetechnology.about.com. March 5, 2014. Archived from
the original
on April 16, 2014
. Retrieved
April 15,
2014
.
- ^
"NLS Announces Awards ? News Releases (Library of Congress)"
. Loc.gov. June 19, 2009
. Retrieved
April 15,
2014
.
- ^
"History"
. Paths to Literacy
. Retrieved
April 15,
2014
.
- ^
"WHOI's Amy Bower Wins Unsung Heroine Award"
.
WHOI
. Retrieved
November 17,
2019
.
- ^
"About Us"
. eccadvocacy.org. Archived from
the original
on September 13, 2016
. Retrieved
April 15,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Figures in Perkins History"
.
Perkins School for the Blind
. Retrieved
February 15,
2021
.
- ^
"Helen Keller FAQ"
.
Perkins School for the Blind
. September 12, 2014
. Retrieved
June 27,
2022
.
- ^
"Figures in Perkins history"
.
Perkins School for the Blind
. October 1, 2015
. Retrieved
June 27,
2022
.
- ^
"Albert K. Gayzagian oral history"
.
Perkins School for the Blind
. June 1, 2022
. Retrieved
June 28,
2022
.
- ^
"Embracing the past, changing the future"
.
Perkins School for the Blind
. October 28, 2016
. Retrieved
June 28,
2022
.
- ^
"Ready to make her splash"
.
Perkins School for the Blind
. September 6, 2016
. Retrieved
June 28,
2022
.
- ^
"Jean Sorel"
.
Perkins School for the Blind
. February 9, 2022
. Retrieved
June 28,
2022
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- "Services for Deaf-Blind Children and Youth inConnecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, & New Hampshire.Final Report. Period of Performance: October 1,1994 ? September 30, 1995"
(PDF)
. Perkins School for the Blind. January 1996.
? Submitted to the
U.S. Department of Education
, posted on
Education Resources Information Center
(ERIC)
- French, Kimberly.
Perkins School for the Blind: The Campus History Series
. Perkins School for the Blind, 2004.
- The Education of Laura Bridgman: First Deaf and Blind Person to Learn Language
- The Imprisoned Guest: Samuel Howe and Laura Bridgman, The Original Deaf-Blind Girl
- Mirror, Mirror on the Wall. The Diary of Bess Brennan
- My Home Away from Home: Life at the Perkins School
by Robert Branco
External links
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