Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children

Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children
Address
201 North Bellefield Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, 15213
United States
Information
Established 1887
Website wpsbc.org

Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children (WPSBC) is a private charter school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for blind students between the ages of 3 to 21. All of its students are legally blind and come from one of the 33 western counties of the state. Most students have multiple disabilities and some may be considered medically fragile. It is one of four approved charter schools—along with the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, the Overbrook School for the Blind, the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf—in Pennsylvania for blind and deaf children.

The Kathryn Kuhlman Foundation has donated more than $40,000 to the school.[1]

The school features artwork by Pittsburgh artist Robert Qualters.

History

Residential facility on campus

Originally known as the Western Pennsylvania Institution for the Blind (WPIB), the school was chartered in 1887. It moved to its current Oakland location in Pittsburgh in 1894, when Mary Schenley donated the land for its construction.[2] The school offered three main types of curriculum: academic, vocational, and commercial.[3]

The School was designated a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education for the 2000-2001 school year.

In 2003, the school opened an Early Childhood Center to work with young people with visual impairments. In 2011, Western Pennsylvania began a transition program to help adults who are graduating from the school and entering adult facilities, known as LAVI: Learning Adventures for the Visually Impaired. This program is in partnership with the Community College of Allegheny County.

The school built an urban trail in its front lawn in 2012.[4] This trail is used for mobility training, which previously had been done outside school grounds.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kathryn Kuhlman (1992). I Believe in Miracles. Prentice-Hall. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-88270-657-3.
  2. ↑ John F. Bauman; Edward K. Muller (1 October 2006). Before Renaissance: Planning in Pittsburgh, 1889-1943. University of Pittsburgh Pre. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-8229-7305-8.
  3. ↑ "Center for the History of Medicine". University of Michigan. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  4. ↑ Niederberger, Mary. "Western Pennsylvania School for the Blind blazes a new trail of its own". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
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Coordinates: 40°26′59″N 79°57′11″W / 40.449806°N 79.953088°W / 40.449806; -79.953088

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