Arkansas school for the blind & visually impaired

Young child with glasses under balloons and a sign that reads "Red Carpet Readers."

Who are we?

ASBVI provides a highly competitive academic environment at NO COST to parents or the local school district. By implementing the Expanded Core Curriculum, our students are able to graduate with skills to rise to any occasion life throws their way. ASBVI offers programs such as Gifted & Talented, Adaptive Technology (with cutting edge equipment), Athletics, Orientation & Mobility training, EAST Initiative, Braille instruction, and much, much more.

The pride of ASBVI is our wonderful teachers. All of the teachers at ASBVI are certified in their subject areas and hold an additional certification or provisional certification in teaching students who are blind and visually impaired.

View Full Website Here: Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired - Home page

What services do we provide?

ASBVI provides resource and special education with accreditation through the Arkansas Department of Education. Occupational, Physical, and Speech therapies, Braille instruction, Orientation and Mobility, Daily living skills, Art, Athletics, Choir, Instrumental Music, Low Vision Clinic, and a Parent Resource Center are all available on campus.

Birth to Three Program

ASBVI is able to offer an outreach service to families and childcare centers providing direct early intervention to children ages birth to three years old who have been diagnosed as blind or visually impaired. Parents/caregivers learn early intervention strategies that will enhance their child's social, emotional, physical and intellectual development.

Residential

ASBVI offers the option for age defined dormitories and living quarters to strengthen and encourage the growth of independence for each child. Caring and experienced house parents provide students with a loving and home-like atmosphere.

Transportation

ASBVI provides free transportation to residential students each Friday and Sunday to and from their local school districts across the state.

Student Activities

ASBVI offers students the opportunity to engage in various student organizations such as Student Council, EAST, FBLA, Year Book Staff, Choir, Art Club, Instrumental Music Club, AAA sanctioned athletics, Gifted & Talented Program, Builders Club, National Braille Challenge, Cane Questo Competition, Work Study Program and Community Based Work Experiences, Special Olympics, Swimming, Wrestling, Track, Cheerleading, and Goal Ball.

Expanded Core Curriculum

The Expanded Core Curriculum is the curriculum used for specialized instruction with students who are blind or visually impaired in order to compensate for the decreased opportunities to learn incidentally by observing others. This is done in addition to the general education curriculum. These include assistive technology, career education, compensatory skills, independent living skills, orientation and mobility, recreation and leisure, self-determination, sensory efficiency, and social interaction skills.

People of all ages, some with masks, holding hands and walking through colored chalk dust floating in the air.

Children and military personnel walking in a field.

Cheerleaders in black uniforms with medals around their necks and a lion mascot beside them.

Group of children in blue shirts behind large blue alphabet letters that read EAST.

Adolescent at a computer wearing headphones.

Children running in single file down a sidewalk with groups on both sides cheering and clapping.

Children around a parachute holding onto the outside edges.

Who do we provide services for?

ASBVI has the ability to proudly serve the blind and visually impaired population ages birth-21. This is done through our Birth to Three, STAAC, Pre-K programs, and K-12th grades. Additionally, students may earn concurrent college credits while still in high school.

Child in a paper hat she has colored that says, "I'm a little cutie pi."

Resources

Fingers pointing to Braille text on a page.

Instructional Resource Center

The Instructional Resource Center at ASBVI provides large print and Braille text-books for all public school students in the state of Arkansas as well as our own students at ASBVI. The IRC works directly with the TVI's in the field and the school to help provide the necessary tools for the education of visually imapired students.

American Printing House for the Blind

APH — American Printing House for the Blind

American Foundation for the Blind-Assistive Technology

Assistive Technology Products | American Foundation for the Blind (afb.org)

Data & Facts

ASB was founded as the Institute for the Education of the Blind in 1859 by the Reverend Haucke, a Baptist minister that was blind.
Otis Patten was the school’s first official superintendent. The campus was originally located in Arkadelphia but was moved to Little Rock in 1868, which made the school more accessible to students across the state.
The first Little Rock campus was located at 1800 Center Street. The institute was renamed the Arkansas School for the Blind in 1877.
On October 9, 1939, the ASB campus was relocated to 2600 West Markham Street, where it remains today.
Helen Keller spoke at the dedication, and the ASB administration building is named after her.
According to the 2022 Annual Report from the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), based upon data from January of 2021, there were approximately 55,711 U.S. children, youth, and adult students in educational settings who were legally blind.
Legal blindness is a level of vision loss that has been defined by law to determine eligibility for benefits. It refers explicitly to those who have a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the best possible correction, or a visual field of 20 degrees or less.

for more information about this program, please contact:

lori.cole@ade.arkansas.gov

(501) 296-1810

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