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VSDB poised to grow | The News Leader | newsleader.com
Angela Scaggs gets so excited about reading sometimes, she has to remind herself to breathe.
When her teacher tells her to get her book, the 11-year-old lets out a whoop of excitement, reaches for the table beside her and pulls out an orange covered copy of the classic kid book, "The Chocolate Touch."
Her hands fly over the pages as she reads the words without seeing.
Reading for Angela, who was born blind, isn't something she takes for granted. She used to attend public school in Christiansburg and didn't have the access to Braille books, magazines, newspapers and special computer software that she does now at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind.
Although homesick at first, Angela, one of 13 new students this year at VSDB, said with enthusiasm, "It's my new home!"
Although enrollment at the state's only school for students with hearing and visual impairments has declined in past years, Superintendent Nancy Armstrong anticipates a steady increase now that a new dorm will open soon and the school has formed a foundation to promote the school and raise money on its behalf.
After the closure of the School for the Deaf, Blind and Multi-Disabled in Hampton, and the consolidation of the two schools in 2008, construction began to renovate and increase the capacity of VSDB. It meant closing a dorm and subsequently not being able to admit as many students.
It also meant temporarily canceling its summer program for deaf and blind students from all over the state, which often gets families interested in the school, Armstrong said.
But a new dorm will open, the summer program will be reinstated and a campaign to promote the school has begun in this fall hopes of raising enrollment which is currently at 108, about half of what the school is capable of taking on.
Armstrong and an admissions officer have attended regional school meetings, where they've handed out fliers and presented the option of VSDB, something they were unable to do when they were part of the Virginia Department of Education.
Now, though, as a separate state agency, the school is permitted to promote itself.
"We're hoping this year to get more children," Armstrong said.
The goal of the school is to get students enrolled at a young age when they can be immersed in a language-rich environment. For deaf students, that means signing occurs 24/7. For the blind, the school has Braille publications and other resources. Teachers are trained to work with each students' individual needs.
On the other hand, because VSDB is a boarding school, where students live five days out of seven, many parents are unwilling to send their students until middle or high school age.
"It's hard for parents to let go of their little ones," Armstrong said.
Getting to VSDB is a multistep process. It begins at the students' home school where VSDB's learning environment may be suggested or a parent can recommend it to the home school.
For a deaf child, some considerations include whether the home school has a qualified interpreter and whether there are other deaf students at the school.
"If there is only one deaf child in a school, that deaf child is going to have real difficulties communicating outside of their interpreter," Armstrong said.
For junior Sierra Campbell, that was the issue at her school in Chesapeake, which she attended through second grade.
"Having to look at the interpreters all day it was hard to pay attention," she said. She was one of a few hearing impaired students, but the only one who was completely deaf.
For students who are blind, VSDB can be a better environment because of the mobility students have on campus, the focus on Braille instruction and the resources and technology available to blind students.
The school provides speaking dictionaries, computer software that reads print and printers that convert documents and Websites to Braille.
For Alex Alicea, a sixth-grader, Braille is still a foreign language. He lost his sight last summer and can still write his name, in print and cursive.
"With Alex, he does a lot of audio learning," said teacher George Payne adding that Alex can hear something once and commit it to memory.
Alex uses a tape player and speaking dictionary to learn while he adjusts to Braille.
Although the school offers many services to students who are deaf or blind, some factors might mean a student is not a right fit for the school's environment, such as lack of space, if a student is medically fragile or if they can't work and live with other students.
Once a student is admitted at VSDB they begin a 30-day period where educational objectives and goals are re-evaluated and a new individualized education plan is created for the student.
The VSDB curriculum is tailored to meet the needs of each students' disability and based on the Virginia Standards of Learning.
Although enrollment is down at VSDB, preschool numbers keep going up, Armstrong said.
Unlike the rest of the school which is separated into deaf and blind departments, the pre-kindergarten program is integrated with all students learning together.
Three-year-old Rowan Fernsler is a hearing role model in VSDB's preschool program. He was born hearing to deaf parents. He signs, speaks and hears.
In addition to pre-K through 12th grade education the school also offers a parent infant program where babies and infants can receive early intervention.
Armstrong hopes that information about the variety of services offered at VSDB will continue to spread.
"There are still a lot of people out there who don't know who we are."
Angela Scaggs gets so excited about reading sometimes, she has to remind herself to breathe.
When her teacher tells her to get her book, the 11-year-old lets out a whoop of excitement, reaches for the table beside her and pulls out an orange covered copy of the classic kid book, "The Chocolate Touch."
Her hands fly over the pages as she reads the words without seeing.
Reading for Angela, who was born blind, isn't something she takes for granted. She used to attend public school in Christiansburg and didn't have the access to Braille books, magazines, newspapers and special computer software that she does now at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind.
Although homesick at first, Angela, one of 13 new students this year at VSDB, said with enthusiasm, "It's my new home!"
Although enrollment at the state's only school for students with hearing and visual impairments has declined in past years, Superintendent Nancy Armstrong anticipates a steady increase now that a new dorm will open soon and the school has formed a foundation to promote the school and raise money on its behalf.
After the closure of the School for the Deaf, Blind and Multi-Disabled in Hampton, and the consolidation of the two schools in 2008, construction began to renovate and increase the capacity of VSDB. It meant closing a dorm and subsequently not being able to admit as many students.
It also meant temporarily canceling its summer program for deaf and blind students from all over the state, which often gets families interested in the school, Armstrong said.
But a new dorm will open, the summer program will be reinstated and a campaign to promote the school has begun in this fall hopes of raising enrollment which is currently at 108, about half of what the school is capable of taking on.
Armstrong and an admissions officer have attended regional school meetings, where they've handed out fliers and presented the option of VSDB, something they were unable to do when they were part of the Virginia Department of Education.
Now, though, as a separate state agency, the school is permitted to promote itself.
"We're hoping this year to get more children," Armstrong said.
The goal of the school is to get students enrolled at a young age when they can be immersed in a language-rich environment. For deaf students, that means signing occurs 24/7. For the blind, the school has Braille publications and other resources. Teachers are trained to work with each students' individual needs.
On the other hand, because VSDB is a boarding school, where students live five days out of seven, many parents are unwilling to send their students until middle or high school age.
"It's hard for parents to let go of their little ones," Armstrong said.
Getting to VSDB is a multistep process. It begins at the students' home school where VSDB's learning environment may be suggested or a parent can recommend it to the home school.
For a deaf child, some considerations include whether the home school has a qualified interpreter and whether there are other deaf students at the school.
"If there is only one deaf child in a school, that deaf child is going to have real difficulties communicating outside of their interpreter," Armstrong said.
For junior Sierra Campbell, that was the issue at her school in Chesapeake, which she attended through second grade.
"Having to look at the interpreters all day it was hard to pay attention," she said. She was one of a few hearing impaired students, but the only one who was completely deaf.
For students who are blind, VSDB can be a better environment because of the mobility students have on campus, the focus on Braille instruction and the resources and technology available to blind students.
The school provides speaking dictionaries, computer software that reads print and printers that convert documents and Websites to Braille.
For Alex Alicea, a sixth-grader, Braille is still a foreign language. He lost his sight last summer and can still write his name, in print and cursive.
"With Alex, he does a lot of audio learning," said teacher George Payne adding that Alex can hear something once and commit it to memory.
Alex uses a tape player and speaking dictionary to learn while he adjusts to Braille.
Although the school offers many services to students who are deaf or blind, some factors might mean a student is not a right fit for the school's environment, such as lack of space, if a student is medically fragile or if they can't work and live with other students.
Once a student is admitted at VSDB they begin a 30-day period where educational objectives and goals are re-evaluated and a new individualized education plan is created for the student.
The VSDB curriculum is tailored to meet the needs of each students' disability and based on the Virginia Standards of Learning.
Although enrollment is down at VSDB, preschool numbers keep going up, Armstrong said.
Unlike the rest of the school which is separated into deaf and blind departments, the pre-kindergarten program is integrated with all students learning together.
Three-year-old Rowan Fernsler is a hearing role model in VSDB's preschool program. He was born hearing to deaf parents. He signs, speaks and hears.
In addition to pre-K through 12th grade education the school also offers a parent infant program where babies and infants can receive early intervention.
Armstrong hopes that information about the variety of services offered at VSDB will continue to spread.
"There are still a lot of people out there who don't know who we are."
