Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children (WPSBC) is a private chartered school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for individuals with blindness and visual impairment. It serves nearly 500 individuals ages 3 to 59 from 33 counties through on-campus school programs, A Child’s VIEW inclusive childcare, LAVI adult program, residential program and outreach services.
The Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children (WPSBC) was chartered in 1887 by people who saw the need for children who are blind to receive specialized education and vocational opportunities. In 1894, the group built a permanent home for their school in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. At first, the School offered three distinct curricula: academic, commercial and industrial.
As theories about educating individuals with visual impairments changed, the School stayed in the forefront of new practices. For example, when orientation and mobility instruction was introduced, the School quickly began to teach travel with a cane. Technological advances — from the Optacon print reading device and Kurzweil reading machine to recently developed computer learning tools and assistive technologies — have always been welcomed and integrated into the curriculum.
In 1984, after intense study and discussion, the School began to reorient the educational programs to serve the unique abilities of many individuals throughout western Pennsylvania with individualized and compassionate programming, filling a need that was not adequately served elsewhere. Now, the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children offers a model program with integrated education and therapy to provide students with unique opportunities for growth and development. In 2003, the School opened its Early Childhood Center, which was uniquely designed for working with young people of all abilities.
Outreach efforts — which began in 1981 with early intervention programming for infants and toddlers — were expanded exponentially in 2008 to include programs for school-aged students with visual impairment that attend their local school.
The beginning of the 2011–12 school year saw the establishment of continued services for adults ages 21 and over with a program called Learning Adventures for the Visually Impaired (LAVI).
In 2012, the School embarked on an initiative to serve infants and toddlers through an inclusive childcare program. A Child's VIEW: Vision In Extraordinary Ways offers comprehensive childcare opportunities, for both children who are and are not visually impaired, from the ages of six weeks to five years.
The 2017–18 school year was marked by the addition of the campus Sky Bridge, which crosses over busy North Bellefield Avenue. This new campus connection created a safer, time-saving route between buildings for students, staff and visitors, providing complete accessibility to all parts of the campus.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children.
Pennsylvania Chartered Schools for Deaf and Blind Children website
Pennsylvania Association for the Blind
January 01, 1970
western, pennsylvania, school, blind, children, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citatio. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations November 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children WPSBC is a private chartered school in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania for individuals with blindness and visual impairment It serves nearly 500 individuals ages 3 to 59 from 33 counties through on campus school programs A Child s VIEW inclusive childcare LAVI adult program residential program and outreach services Western Pennsylvania School for Blind ChildrenAddress201 North Bellefield AvenuePittsburgh Allegheny County Pennsylvania 15213United StatesCoordinates40 26 59 N 79 57 11 W 40 449806 N 79 953088 W 40 449806 79 953088InformationEstablished1887Websitewpsbc wbr org WPSBC is one of four chartered schools in Pennsylvania along with the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf the Overbrook School for the Blind and the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksHistory edit nbsp Residential facility on campus The Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children WPSBC was chartered in 1887 by people who saw the need for children who are blind to receive specialized education and vocational opportunities In 1894 the group built a permanent home for their school in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh At first the School offered three distinct curricula academic commercial and industrial As theories about educating individuals with visual impairments changed the School stayed in the forefront of new practices For example when orientation and mobility instruction was introduced the School quickly began to teach travel with a cane Technological advances from the Optacon print reading device and Kurzweil reading machine to recently developed computer learning tools and assistive technologies have always been welcomed and integrated into the curriculum In 1984 after intense study and discussion the School began to reorient the educational programs to serve the unique abilities of many individuals throughout western Pennsylvania with individualized and compassionate programming filling a need that was not adequately served elsewhere Now the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children offers a model program with integrated education and therapy to provide students with unique opportunities for growth and development In 2003 the School opened its Early Childhood Center which was uniquely designed for working with young people of all abilities Outreach efforts which began in 1981 with early intervention programming for infants and toddlers were expanded exponentially in 2008 to include programs for school aged students with visual impairment that attend their local school The beginning of the 2011 12 school year saw the establishment of continued services for adults ages 21 and over with a program called Learning Adventures for the Visually Impaired LAVI In 2012 the School embarked on an initiative to serve infants and toddlers through an inclusive childcare program A Child s VIEW Vision In Extraordinary Ways offers comprehensive childcare opportunities for both children who are and are not visually impaired from the ages of six weeks to five years The 2017 18 school year was marked by the addition of the campus Sky Bridge which crosses over busy North Bellefield Avenue This new campus connection created a safer time saving route between buildings for students staff and visitors providing complete accessibility to all parts of the campus See also editEric KlossReferences editExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children Pennsylvania Chartered Schools for Deaf and Blind Children website Pennsylvania Association for the Blind Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children amp oldid 1219362986, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
