Perkins Honored at National Braille Challenge Finals

At this year’s National Braille Challenge event in Los Angeles, a Perkins teacher and three student filmmakers received two very special honors.

Roz Rowley gives a braille lesson.

Perkins braille teacher, Rosalind "Roz" Rowley, was named 2010 Teacher of the Year. Roz graduated from Perkins in 1964 and has taught at the school for nearly 40 years. In 2001 she encountered a student who, despite a fine mind, was unable to learn to read braille. With characteristic spunk, wit, and sense of adventure, she set herself the task of teaching him to read. She found the Wilson Reading System, a widely used 12-step curriculum for students with reading disabilities. Not only did her student flourish, but Roz and two of her colleagues adapted many of the Wilson Reading System materials into braille for their students. (Watch Roz's nomination video on YouTube).  

“To know braille,” says Roz, “is to be able to go out in the world and be employable and independent. The importance of braille in a blind child’s life cannot be underestimated.”

Also during the Braille Challenge event, Perkins student filmmakers received an honorable mention in the first-ever film festival for students who are blind, Cinema Without Sight.

Ashley, Michelle, and Laurie

The documentary, “Seeing Through the Lens” tells the story of the friendship among three young women studying and living at Perkins. The film was a project in a video production class instructed by Kevin Bright, the Hollywood producer/director of “Friends,” and current Emerson College professor and Executive Artist in Residence at Perkins.

Each girl has a unique story. Ashley, 17, is a singer songwriter about to release her first CD of original songs. Michelle, 18, is partially sighted and an aficionado of Japanese anime art and video. She sings and acts in school and community theater productions. Laurie, 19,  the class clown finds just about everything hilarious. Though she is totally blind, she adores videotaping her friends, particularly if she can capture a humorous moment.  (Watch "Seeing Through the Lens" on our website).

The Perkins community is especially proud to be honored at the National Braille Challenge, an annual event that showcases the power of braille in the hands of students who compete using the Perkins Brailler® which has been designed and manufactured at Perkins School for the Blind since 1951. Its newest edition, The Next Generation™ Perkins Brailler was initially released in 2008 in cooperation with American Printing House for the Blind and is now available worldwide.

For more information about the Braille Challenge, including details about this year's award winners, visit the Braille Institute website.  Missed this year's challenge? Click here to access podcasts of the 2010 Braille Challenge Event.