Chloe, a residential program student, uses her probing cane to walk to her class between buildings March 10, 2023 on the campus of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children in Oakland.
Story by JOANNE KLIMOVICH HARROP
Photos by SHANE DUNLAP
Tribune-Review
June 25, 2023
Editor’s note: This is the second in a two-part series on residency at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children.
Students’ last names have been omitted at the request of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children.
Chloe makes her way down the long hallway.
She holds onto her white probing cane, moving it from side to side. As she takes a few steps up a slight grade, she reaches to feel for the doorway entrance with her left hand.
Her eyes are partially closed. Chloe, 20, of Irwin is blind, but that doesn’t stop her from envisioning what’s ahead.
On this Thursday afternoon in February, she was participating in an after-school program called the movement group at the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children in Oakland. She and 18 others live in the residential program Sunday evening through Friday afternoon throughout the school year.
“We might need assistance with tasks, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do it,” said Chloe, who has been living in the dorm since 2020.
Students can be considered for residential programs if they live too far from the Oakland area of Pittsburgh to commute on a daily basis or if there are other concerns that would be negatively impacted by a daily commute.
All-day and residential programs and services are available without charge to parents. Transportation is covered by the student’s home district.
The school has 203 students from 93 districts within Pennsylvania.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the annual cost for a five-day residential stay during the school year starts at $184,745. Cost of tuition only for students who do not live at the school starts at $92,821.
Neither figure includes aide or extended school year services. Respite care — temporary stays — also is available.
The majority of summers are spent at home. But there is an extended school year program that operates for 15 days in July with some students living in the dorm during that time.
The Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children was formed after Pittsburgh philanthropist Jane Holmes bequeathed $40,000 for the “care and education of the blind.” It was chartered Jan. 8, 1887, as the Western Pennsylvania Institution for the Blind.
In 1890, the school opened temporary quarters in Lawrenceville and offered academic, commercial and industrial training. It moved to its present home in 1894, built on 5.1 acres donated by philanthropist Mary Schenley.
Federal funding expanded the level of care for students who were deaf and blind and those with multiple disabilities. By 1981, the school began offering services for infants and toddlers with visual impairments. Students can attend the school until age 21. Currently, some might stay a year longer because they lost time because of the pandemic.
Transition teams assess each individual’s strengths and interests and connect families with resources and opportunities in their communities, said Heidi Ondek, the school’s superintendent and executive director. The school also offers access to Learning Adventures for the Visually Impaired, an adult program that provides participants opportunities for continued learning and community engagement.
All of the students meet the definition of legal blindness, a representative for the school said. If you’re legally blind, you can still see — just not that clearly. Normal vision is 20/20, meaning a person can clearly see an object 20 feet away. Legally blind is quantified as vision that is 20/200 or less, which means the person would have to stand 20 feet from an object in order to see it as clearly as a person with normal vision could see with the same clarity 200 feet away.
Having access to living on campus gives students additional opportunities to socialize and work on enhancing skills that will help them after they graduate. What they do after school is a continuum of what they are taught in the classroom.
The residential program provides academic and social enrichment, much like community after-school programs, Ondek said.
Technological advancements have continuously improved students’ ability to gain independence and improve communication, ultimately enhancing their educational experience, Ondek said.
Students learn math and reading and have study time in the dorm. Each student has an individualized food plan with meals that are tailored to their dietary needs. There is leisure time. The dorm has lounge areas, access to activities, dining and individualized care — pretty much whatever is needed for students to feel at home.
The students can spend time outside and can play games on the lawn. They can study or relax in one of the lounges. There are smart televisions and comfortable couches. Some students have partial vision and can see images on a large television screen.
They have spacious dorm rooms and can personalize their living space similar to how a college student brings items from home to decorate. Bathrooms are equipped with accessible equipment. They are cared for by certified staff 24 hours a day.
“School is fun,” Chloe said. “Living here is fun. I’ve made a lot of friends. I do miss home sometimes, but I get to go home on weekends.”
Chloe is proficient at navigating the premises. Her dorm room is set up so she knows where to place her shoes and hang up a coat, and where her bed is located.
On-campus living can have a tremendous impact on a child’s future success, development and overall well-being, according to the school.
It can be a difficult and emotional decision for parents to have their children live on campus, according to Raeanna Cunningham, supervisor for the evening residential program. She and her colleagues take the time to make the transition smooth. They learn about each student, she said, from what their favorite snack is to how to make the bedtime routine easier.
That transition from day to night begins with after-school programming, which provides continual care and additional learning opportunities for students. They socialize more and work on skills that will help them after they graduate.
The after-school programs include activities that support concepts and skills learned during the school day, such as the aforementioned movement group that incorporates music. During the day, they can work in the greenhouse or learn to cook. The school’s store gives students an opportunity to work.
Chloe does it all. She has become part of the school’s pilot independent traveler program — through the practice, development and demonstration of instructional concepts throughout the school building, which allows students to move around the school with different levels of staff supervision.
In movement group, Chloe took the lead and other residential students followed her around the gym. She used her cane to search for obstacles in her way. When warned about a big ball in front of her, she kicked it out of the way and kept on walking.
She and several students spent the hour listening to music, clapping, dancing and singing.
“Music hits the soul,” Cunningham said. “It’s a universal language.”
A representative from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust ran the 60-minute movement group and added in tactile items such as scarves and balls. She made sure to play the students’ favorite songs. Chloe led the singing. She can sense where people are in the room and asks who they are. She introduces them to other people.
“We use the communication system the students use,” Cunningham said. “We can provide some things they can’t always get at home.”
Cunningham said there are so many benefits to being in the dorm, and that begins with a strong support system that takes the students from day to night in a continual care atmosphere. Rapport building is important, she said. The students gather in small groups after school, so the staff gets to know them and they can get individualized care.
“We want them to be able to understand their environment and feel comfortable in their environment,” she said.
It can be an emotional time for parents and children, Cunningham said, which is why it’s important to keep in contact with parents. Cunningham said that when one of the younger students first arrived, her mom stayed a few nights.
Smartphones help students keep in touch with their parents through features such as talk-to-text. Computer software can “read” an online newspaper story, and students can talk into a remote to find the channel they want on the television.
Dorm residents spend a lot of time together and develop friendships. That is what happened with Chloe and her roommate, Darlene. Darlene said she feels comfortable with all aspects of the school, from the daily class schedule to dorm life.
“I like living here because there are people like me here, and they listen to my needs and my wants here,” said Darlene, 15, of Youngsville, Warren County. She has been a part of the residential program since 2018.
Darlene has limited vision. She is able to read large-font print.
She said she was homesick when she arrived. That is not unusual, Cunningham said. It’s a new surrounding, and they need time to get acclimated. The staff — those who work in the dorm and in the school during the day — is wonderful at creating a welcoming atmosphere and family-like connection, Cunningham said. She relies on their expertise of each student’s needs and wants.
It’s not always easy to get acclimated to a new living situation.
“I would cry and not be able to sleep when I first got here,” Darlene said. “But these people here are amazing. They don’t make fun of me. You can grow at this school. You don’t have to try to hide anything.”
The dorm gives students of all ages the opportunity to interact and learn from each other, Cunningham said.
“I have learned so many things here,” Darlene said. “Everyone who works here treats us so well. It doesn’t matter if you have trouble seeing or use a wheelchair — that is OK.”
In the lounge, Dominic of Central City, Somerset County — one of the oldest students at 22 — said he would live on campus year-round if he could. He also wants to come back next school year. Dominic started living in the dorm in January 2020. He was granted an extra year of school from the state following the pandemic.
“Everyone here is nice,” said Dominic, who has limited vision. “I like the food. I want to go to summer school. It’s so much fun.”
As he sat in one of the lounges, he talked into the remote control to find a YouTube video of a car driving through the Squirrel Hill Tunnel on the smart TV.
“I am a huge tunnel fan,” Dominic said. “Sit down and watch this.”
Dominic also is a fan of bowling. The school has two lanes it utilizes for an after-school activity. One afternoon, with an aide by his side, he picked up a bowling ball, walked up to the lane and placed it on a ramp. He released, and it rolled down the lane for a strike. There are bumper railings on either side of the lane to make sure the ball doesn’t end up in the gutter.
The sound of the pins falling and everyone telling him he got a strike made Dominic wave his arms in celebration and smile.
Part of their daily interactions includes working at the campus store, Paw Prints, stocking shelves, taking inventory and cleaning the coffee bar.
“They also learn how to make a list and shop on a budget,” said Valerie Farino, a vocational instructor. “They deal with customers. These are all valuable skills.”
Chloe was at the cash register on a Friday in early March. She waited on a customer, took her money and gave her change.
Coins can be identified by touch. Each is a different size, and the edges are either smooth or have ridges. Chloe knows where the bills are in the slots in the register. Bills often are folded in a specific way so students can distinguish them.
Sometimes the students get tips, which is one of the benefits Chloe likes.
In the store, Dominic handled cleaning duties for the day. With some direction from Farino, he sprayed liquid from a bottle onto a metal cart and dried it with a towel.
Students also develop cooking skills in the baking buddies class. They learn about the ingredients and how to follow a recipe. The cookies they make are packaged and sold on the coffee cart on Wednesday afternoons by students.
While Dominic and Chloe were baking, Darlene got on one of the adaptive bikes with the help of a staff member. She cruised past school rooms, teachers and fellow classmates. The bikes have pedals that are able to keep feet in place, and some have high backs for a child who may need additional support.
She sped up and slowed a little as she went around the bends like she had traveled this route many times. Creating that routine and familiarity with their environment takes time. That process is enhanced through the residence program, Cunningham said.
“It overlaps with what they are learning during the day,” she said. “There are so many benefits to being here. They get a well-rounded education, and they have a whole support system in the day at school and at night with the residence program.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact JoAnne at jharrop@tribweb.com or via Twitter @joannescoop.
Shane Dunlap is a Tribune-Review photographer. You can contact Shane via email at sdunlap@triblive.com.