DRS and OSB

Laquanna Sango, Senior: I love OSB things like – everything. I like everything about it, the food, the teachers, the way they help us, our accommodations.

Voice over (VO): Located in Muskogee, the Oklahoma School for the Blind, also known as Parkview School, offers education programs, free of charge, for children with vision loss.

Students may live on campus during the week, commute from home or attend summer school programs.

Russell Rowland, Sophomore: What I like about going to school here is that the teachers – not only do they assist us but they teach us how to be independent in college. The school also provides us with the technologies that we will be needing in college. They teach us how to use them.

VO: Children from preschool age through high school benefit from small class sizes and individual instruction from highly skilled and dedicated educators.

Faye Miller, OSB teacher: OSB is the perfect environment for students with vision loss, because we have the expertise and we have the equipment here at our school to provide them with individualized instruction and really work on areas of concept development that they may not get using traditional methods.

VO: Students follow a fully accredited academic program and get instruction in areas specifically designed for people with vision loss.

Sango: I like the teachers. I like the teachers because they help us and they are sensitive to our needs. They help us with whatever problems we go through.

Valarie Wilson, OSB Life Skills Teacher: I’ve seen them grow from being kind of shy and backwards about their impairment to actually standing forth and saying this is what I need and this is what I can do just give me the chance.

VO: The Oklahoma School for the Blind provides thousands of free outreach services each year for students attending local public schools and their families.

Qualified staff provide evaluations, in-service training for teachers and recommendations for classroom modifications that help students reach their full potential.

Renee Miller, OSB Outreach: The outreach services here at the school for the blind, provide consultation, resources, and support services for individuals, professionals that work with students that are visually impaired.

Jana House, mother of Lauren, OSB Student: With the help of OSB, we feel like she’s been able to make leaps and bounds already. With their continued help, we know that she will be able to be a successful person.

Copyright 2008 Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services.