- organizations and specialized schools that provide direct services to individuals who have a visual impairment deliver high-quality direct services, and
- institutions of higher education prepare professionals to provide services of the highest quality to individuals who have a visual impairment.
Accreditation is a means of ensuring that consumers are provided quality services in accordance with best practices in management, program delivery and curriculum.” In 2017, the AER Board accepted a proposal from the National Accreditation Council (NAC) to transfer its accreditation program for private agencies and schools to AER. At the same time, AER elevated its longstanding University Review Program from an approval process to an accreditation process, and established the AER Accreditation Council to direct both accreditation services. At the July 2018 AER Convention, the membership approved an amendment to the AER Bylaws which gave the Council independent legal and functioning authority with its own board, which would function independently from the professional organization.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OHIO STATE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND!
OSSB has been awarded FULL Accreditation through the AER Accreditation Program for the following programs: K-12, Multiple Disabilities, and Residential Facilities
The first public school in the United States for the education of Blind and Visually Impaired students, OSSB welcomes more than 100 students each year to our campus in Columbus, Ohio. We use Expanded Core Curriculum in our classrooms and offer students opportunities to learn and grow socially and emotionally in a safe environment through extra-curricular activities.
In 1837, the Ohio government established the Ohio Institution for the Education of the Blind. This institution was the predecessor of the Ohio State School for the Blind. It was the first public school for the blind in the United States. The school opened its doors in 1837, and it was located in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Any blind children residing in Ohio could attend the institution. Eleven students enrolled at the Ohio Institution for the Education of the Blind this first year. In 1839 the first school building was constructed & initially had a maximum capacity of sixty students, but upon moving to a new building in 1874, more than three hundred students could attend at one time. Between 1839 and 1901 2,058 students enrolled at the Ohio Institution for the Education of the Blind, with 339 attending in 1901 alone.
In the early 1900s, the Ohio Institution for the Education of the Blind became known as the Ohio State School for the Blind, and the Ohio Department of Education assumed control of the school. In 1953, the school moved ten miles north of its original location to its present home. In 2005, 126 students enrolled in the Ohio State School for the Blind. Students as young as three and as old as twenty-one years of age attended the school. Students could receive their entire education—kindergarten through high school—at the institution. In addition, the Ohio State School for the Blind offers vocational training for its students.
The OSSB Mission Statement: The Ohio State School for the Blind is a collaboration of students who are blind and visually impaired, their families, staff and community members who provide an individualized road map that develops the whole student.
COMMENDATIONS
The Panel Wishes to Commend OSSB for:
- Starting a process for looking at academic standards and effective instruction by hiring an instructional coach.
- Developing and implementing the Community Engagement and Visibility Action Plan and other components of a comprehensive strategic plan.
- A significant schedule of activities to connect with consumers, family and students, including an annual community stakeholder meeting, (quarterly) open community forums, annual back to school meeting, Coffee with the Superintendent, Superintendent and Principals meeting with graduating seniors, etc.
- Designing key improvements to enhance accessibility/internal ADA features beyond basic standards.
- Implementing safety features including a quick reference flipbook for staff responses to emergency situations, and a comprehensive security plan including an OSHP officer learning ASL/deaf culture and the installation of direct radio connection to OHSP dispatch.
- Initiating partnerships such as the EI Program and Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) which the panel heartedly encourages and hopes are continued.
