From: "Nancy K. Martin" 
Subject: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville School (fwd)
   
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 31 Aug 1997 12:11:13 -0700
From: Kelly Ford 
To: BLINDFAM@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
Subject: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville School
Hi All,
I noticed the following in the Milwaukee paper today.  I thought this
might be of some interest here.
I'd also be curious to know what folks think the purpose of residential
schools should be and if they are appropriate.  I wonder how much age has
to do with this in terms of how attitudes about educating in the home
cummunity were when you were growing up.  I'm 30 and at age 4 was given
the choice of going to this school (I'm from Wisconsin) or a new program
which was being put together in a town 17 miles away.  The result for me
was a 45 minute bus ride to and from school and attending a school
different from all my brothers and sisters but still, for lack of a better
word, a regular school.  At that time the state of Wisconsin opted to set
up a program for many people who were blind in one city and bus folks in.
I had a very positive experience and learned most of the
blindness-specific things I needed to in the regular school and from my
family.
Parents fight closing of Janesville school
      By Stan Milam
      Special to the Journal Sentinel
   August 31, 1997
   Janesville -- Mary Bortz says it's a difficult concept to understand,
   but visually impaired children need time and special educational
   opportunities to learn to be comfortable with their disability.
   And, like many parents at the Wisconsin School for the Visually
   Handicapped in Janesville, she believes those opportunities are ones
   that can't be found at regular schools. That's why she and others are
   fighting hard to prevent shutting down the facility at the end of the
   school year.
   "Many young visually impaired children simply cannot develop the
   confidence and comfort level necessary to succeed by attending public
   schools," Bortz said. "They need to experience the freedom to be
   blind."
   State school superintendent John Benson this month announced plans to
   close the school, which was established in 1849, after the 1997-'98
   school year because of declining enrollment. A decade ago, the school
   had more than 100 students. Today, 55 are registered for the fall
   term, although more are expected.
   Under Benson's plan, which still needs legislative approval, the $7.3
   million spent each year to run the school would be distributed to
   local school districts to meet the needs of visually impaired
   students.
   The school's Parent, Staff and Student Association is lobbying
   lawmakers to block Benson from closing the facility.
   Bortz, who has two daughters at the school, worries that they won't
   receive the education they need to survive in a sighted world if they
   are taught elsewhere.
   "The school districts, at least in my case, do not tell parents what
   to expect in the way of services for their visually impaired
   children," she said. "I just accepted what they offered until I
   learned about the Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped here
   in Janesville."
   Other parents echoed her comments.
   "We lived in Milwaukee and were offered a program that was totally
   inadequate," said Melissa Raddatz. "When my daughter was 4, we went
   through the process of evaluating her needs, but the school never told
   us about WSVH."
   Emotions are running high among students, staff and parents in what
   could be the final year of the school's operation.
   The school teaches visually impaired and blind students skills such as
   Braille, adaptive technology, orientation and mobility, and daily
   living skills.
   It's the special-skills training that sets the school apart from
   others, said Tom Hanson, a vocational education teacher at the school.
   Hanson, who has been blind since age 6, is a graduate of the school
   who went on to earn a doctorate in special education.
   "What we provide is an opportunity for a student to be a total
   well-rounded individual," he said. "Students here get the academics,
   but they also get the additional compensating skills that help develop
   self-esteem and self-confidence."
   But a spokesman for the Department of Public Instruction said the
   specialized training mentioned by the school's staff is indeed being
   offered in Wisconsin's public schools.
   "First of all, we understand that only 55 students registered for the
   fall term at WSVH, although more are expected," spokesman Greg Doyle
   said. "But the point is that the other 1,240 or so visually
   handicapped students in this state are getting the same education with
   the same training and other specialized needs as the students at
   WSVH."
   Money spent on serving the students at the residential school in
   Janesville would be better served in the students' home communities,
   Doyle said.
   "One could argue that such specialized educational needs as mobility
   and orientation would be better taught in the home community where the
   students would be dealing with those situations," Doyle said. "The
   department's goal is to take the money now being spent at the school
   in Janesville to significantly enhance opportunities for all visually
   handicapped students."
   The issue of teaching students to read Braille is an example of the
   need to budget more effectively, Doyle said.
   "We recognize that teaching Braille is an incredibly expensive program
   costing as much as $3,000 for a textbook," he said. "Our position all
   along has been that this is a necessary program, and the resources
   available for it should go to all visually handicapped students in the
   state, not just the 60 or so who attend WSVH."
   Added Benson: "Parents and local school districts increasingly are
   deciding to educate children with visual disabilities in their local
   school districts, which allow the children to remain at home and with
   their family and friends."
   Benson wants to take the $4.9 million the state pays each year to run
   the residential school, redirect another $1.36 million a year in
   federal funding, and authorize an additional $1 million a year in
   state funds to pay for expanded programs in public school systems. He
   said he also wants to help the school staff find other employment.
   "To a person, they are dedicated to improving the lives of young
   people. Many (staff members) have unique skills that local school
   districts will be seeking," Benson said.
   But some staff members believe the best way to improve the lives of
   visually impaired young people is to build on what's offered at the
   school, not close it down.
   "Mr. Benson's claims with the numbers are misleading," said John
   Sonka, a physical education teacher at the school. "He claims there
   are 1,300 students out there and we are only serving 60-some.
   "He's probably comparing apples to oranges right now. Sure, there are
   plenty of students in the public school systems, but if they all knew
   what is offered here in Janesville, I'm certain we would have more
   students."
   One of those students is Marcus Couch, 11, who has developed a strong
   interest in music since he started school there in 1991.
   "I can play the piano and the trumpet, but I like the drum set the
   best," Marcus said. "I have learned to read music by Braille."
   Scott (left) listens to teacher Fred Nesvold during a math lesson.
   Scott walks to his locker. One parent opposed to the school's closing
   said of the students, "They need to experience the freedom to be
   blind."
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