There is a looming crisis in teaching Braille to the blind: a teacher
shortage. Advocates can scream endlessly at school districts but if there
are not enough qualified teachers, we need to consider working on short and
long range solutions. Braille still has its place in this digital age and
more people in the public could benefit to learn how much opportunity is
opened up by it, particularly employment options.
kelly
Published Friday, February 23, 2001, in The State.
S.C. has shortage of teachers for blind
_________________________________________________________________
By SHANNON KING
Staff Writer
_________________________________________________________________
It took extra work and determination, but Kim Guerra doesn't regret
any of it.
Guerra graduated last year with a master's degree in special education
and is one of four certified teachers for blind students in Richland
1.
"I love my job and my students," said Guerra, a teacher at Bradley
Elementary School in Richland District 1. "I feel like I can make a
real difference in their lives to help them become independent."
Advocates for the blind say they need more teachers like Guerra who
can teach Braille.
The shortage of teachers, Braille text books and technology are among
the dozens of topics that will be discussed today at a daylong Vision
Summit in Columbia.
The first-ever summit was organized following a random survey in 1998
by administrators at the S.C. School for the Deaf and Blind that cited
26 school districts without certified teachers for blind students.
There are more than 1,500 students in South Carolina who are blind or
visually impaired.
The state now has 80 qualified teachers, with half expected to retire
in the next four to six years, said Sheila Breitweiser, president of
the School for the Deaf and Blind in Spartanburg.
Rural school districts are most affected by the shortage, Breitweiser
said. They either rely on neighboring districts to meet the need or
seek help from one of the five outreach centers in the state operated
by the School for the Deaf and Blind.
"It becomes a literacy issue for these children," Breitweiser said.
"They will be in class with a teacher not trained to teach Braille so,
in many cases, the students will miss out on learning to read and
write."
Lin Mackechnie, a principal at the School for Deaf and Blind, said it
would be ideal to have four students to one teacher.
"We're not nearly at that point," she said. "Hopefully this summit
will get the word out about how critical this is to education."
Richland districts 1 and 2 have two of the largest programs in the
state for students who are blind.
Lexington 1, 3 and District 5 of Lexington and Richland Counties also
have certified teachers and use the outreach center for additional
help.
Sara McCracken and her husband moved from Greenwood to Spartanburg in
1988 so their daughter, Jessica, now 18, could have adequate services.
There was no teacher in Greenwood certified to teach Braille,
McCracken said.
"When people know the needs of students who are visually impaired and
the accommodations they need to function in a hearing and seeing
world, the better," McCracken said.
For more information, call the S.C. School for the Deaf and Blind at
864-577-7505.
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