Miss-Delectable
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WHSV - News
As the architects described it, the Staunton school, which will be the state's residential school for the deaf and blind, will have the latest technology to meet student's needs. Folks got the chance to look at the future of the Virginia school for the deaf and blind in Staunton.
"There's a lot of state of the art equipment, there's a lot of state of the art technology that's available that will fit very nicely here," says Doug Cox, the Assistant Superintendent for Special Education.
One of the architects who is deaf himself, helped plan a campus that would meet the diverse needs of students....from better lighting to acoustics.
"We have to have the right texture so that the blind can feel the difference between one room and another," says John Dickinson, an architect for special needs.
Architect John Dickinson says even the buildings will be strategically placed.
"As the sun rises, you know, from the East and then goes to the West, we will try to make sure that the building location will fit, and all of the natural light will enter into the building," says Dickinson.
As a parent and teacher, Casey Morehouse says it’s about time, but she still has some concerns.
"I'm not as concerned about the technology as I am concerned about the staffing and the needs of the program that we have, we're going to have some big changes in terms of the student population and even though they're looking a lot at the building technology, what we really need is funding for staffing to be able to meet the needs of these new students coming in," says Casey Morehouse, an audiologist at the Staunton VSDB.
With campus security being a top priority, the renovations will also make students feel more at home.
"I think that we have focused on the needs of children through this entire process, and that's what we're still continuing to do and I think that's what the most important thing to do and I think we've done that and we've done that well," says Cox.
Once the design is defined, the architects will develop the documentation to get the construction started. The construction will start sometime next year and it will take about 36 months. The Hampton students will have access to Staunton's residential program after July of 2008.
As the architects described it, the Staunton school, which will be the state's residential school for the deaf and blind, will have the latest technology to meet student's needs. Folks got the chance to look at the future of the Virginia school for the deaf and blind in Staunton.
"There's a lot of state of the art equipment, there's a lot of state of the art technology that's available that will fit very nicely here," says Doug Cox, the Assistant Superintendent for Special Education.
One of the architects who is deaf himself, helped plan a campus that would meet the diverse needs of students....from better lighting to acoustics.
"We have to have the right texture so that the blind can feel the difference between one room and another," says John Dickinson, an architect for special needs.
Architect John Dickinson says even the buildings will be strategically placed.
"As the sun rises, you know, from the East and then goes to the West, we will try to make sure that the building location will fit, and all of the natural light will enter into the building," says Dickinson.
As a parent and teacher, Casey Morehouse says it’s about time, but she still has some concerns.
"I'm not as concerned about the technology as I am concerned about the staffing and the needs of the program that we have, we're going to have some big changes in terms of the student population and even though they're looking a lot at the building technology, what we really need is funding for staffing to be able to meet the needs of these new students coming in," says Casey Morehouse, an audiologist at the Staunton VSDB.
With campus security being a top priority, the renovations will also make students feel more at home.
"I think that we have focused on the needs of children through this entire process, and that's what we're still continuing to do and I think that's what the most important thing to do and I think we've done that and we've done that well," says Cox.
Once the design is defined, the architects will develop the documentation to get the construction started. The construction will start sometime next year and it will take about 36 months. The Hampton students will have access to Staunton's residential program after July of 2008.