Georgia Academy for the Blind (GAB) is a state-operated public school for the blind in Macon, Georgia. The Georgia Department of Education operates the school.
Thomas Ridgeway, a former professor and an alumnus of the school, stated that the folklore is that a mother in the Macon area made efforts to establish the school after her daughter survived an epidemic. In 1851 a group of Georgians petitioned the legislature to have the school established. [1] The Georgia Legislature spent $5,000 to establish the school, which opened in 1852. [2]
In the era of de jure educational segregation in the United States, GAB separated its white students from its black students. The school racially integrated circa 1965. [3]
In 1990 there was a study headed by two employees of Gallaudet University that concluded that the Georgia Department of Education should do more to ensure more children were placed at Georgia Academy for the Blind and at the two other state schools for disabled children, Georgia School for the Deaf and Atlanta Area School for the Deaf, as all three were under-utilized. [4]
In 2009 the school's student fund was running out of money. [5]
In 1990 the school had ages 4-21, with students numbering 170, and with about 33% having disabilities in other aspects. Most of the children lived in school districts which had one or two blind students each, and most of the students did not live in the Atlanta metropolitan area. [4]
The school has dormitory facilities. [5]
Its student count ranged to 100 as of 2017. [1] In 2009 it had 130 students with 70 boarders. [5]
Prior to 2015 the school had a pep squad. In 2015 it added a competitive cheerleading squad. [6]
Macon, officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia, United States. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is 85 miles (137 km) southeast of Atlanta and near the state's geographic center—hence its nickname "The Heart of Georgia."
Kathy Cox is a former superintendent of public schools for the U.S. state of Georgia, and is a Republican. A high school teacher by occupation, Cox also served two terms, from 1998 to 2002, in the Georgia House of Representatives, representing Peachtree City, Georgia, prior to her election as superintendent in 2002. Cox sought re-election in 2006, defeating Democratic challenger Denise Majette, earning almost 60 percent of the vote.
The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB) is a state-supported boarding school for deaf and blind children established in 1885, in St. Augustine, Florida, United States.
The West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (WVSDB) were established by an Act of the Legislature on March 3, 1870. The School for the Deaf and the School for the Blind offer comprehensive educational programs for hearing impaired and visually impaired students respectively. There is also a unit for deafblind and multihandicapped children. Students are eligible to enroll at the age of three, must be residents of the state of West Virginia and exhibit a hearing or visual loss sufficient to prevent normal progress in the usual public school setting. The West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind are located on a campus in Romney in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. Locally, the schools are referred to simply as The state school.
Indiana School for the Deaf (ISD) is a fully accredited school for the deaf and hard of hearing, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.
Minnesota State Academy for the Blind (MSAB) (formerly known as the Braille and Sight Saving School) is a public school in Faribault, Minnesota, United States. Its mission is the education and life education of blind, visually impaired, and deaf-blind learners from birth to age 21. The school has a residential option program and provides 24-hour programming including Braille, independent travel, assistive technologies, and individualized educational services. Students often have multiple disabilities and come from all regions of the state.
The California School for the Blind is a public educational institution for blind children, K-12, located in Fremont, California. Its campus is located next to the California School for the Deaf.
The Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf (MSAD) is a public residential school serving deaf children in Minnesota, United States. It is one of two Minnesota State Academies in Faribault and operated by the state for particular student populations.
Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) is a state-operated primary and secondary school for deaf children in Austin, Texas. Opened in 1857 "in an old frame house, three log cabins, and a smokehouse", it is the oldest continually-operated public school in Texas. The school struggled under inadequate funding during the American Civil War, and its aftermath, with the students eating food that they grew themselves on the school farm. In 1951 the State Board of Education assumed oversight of the school.
Georgia School for the Deaf (GSD) is a public residential school for the deaf. GSD provides comprehensive education and services to deaf and hard-of-hearing students between the ages of three and twenty-two. Located in Cave Spring, Georgia, United States, the school offers day and residential programs which meet the academic, social and physical needs of students in a bilingual environment. It was established in 1846 and is one of three public state schools operated by the Georgia Department of Education.
Iowa School for the Deaf is a pre-K to 12th grade school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students located in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It serves students who live in Iowa and Nebraska.
The Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB) is the world’s most comprehensive education, rehabilitation and service program serving individuals of all ages who are deaf, blind, deafblind and multidisabled. It is operated by the U.S. state of Alabama in the city of Talladega. The current institution includes the Alabama School for the Deaf, the Alabama School for the Blind, and the Helen Keller School of Alabama, named for Alabamian Helen Keller, which serves children who are both deaf and blind. E. H. Gentry Facility provides vocational training for adult students, and the institution offers employment through its Alabama Industries for the Blind facilities in Talladega and Birmingham. AIDB has regional centers in Birmingham, Decatur, Dothan, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, Opelika, Shoals, Talladega, and Tuscaloosa. AIDB currently serves over 36,000 residents from all 67 counties of the state.
Atlanta Area School for the Deaf (AASD) is a state-operated K-12 public school in Clarkston, Georgia. It provides full-day instructional services to infants, children, and youth who are deaf, including persons with multiple handicaps. The classroom programs range from preschool through twelfth grade. Students experience a range of academic, vocational, and social opportunities.
The South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind is a school in unincorporated Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States, near Spartanburg and with a Spartanburg postal address. It was founded in 1849 by the Reverend Newton Pinckney Walker as a private school for students who were deaf. The School for the Blind was established in 1855, and the school became state funded in 1856.
Texas Blind, Deaf, and Orphan School was a school for blind and deaf black people in Austin, Texas. Throughout its history, due to educational segregation in the United States, the school served only black students and had black teachers; whites attended the Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) and the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI).
Metro Deaf School (MDS) is a birth–12+ free charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota that serves Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind students throughout the Twin Cities. Its mission is to promote academic excellence and social wellbeing for Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard-of-Hearing students using an ASL/English bilingual approach.
Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf (MKSD), also known as the New Jersey School for the Deaf and Blind, initially the New Jersey State Institution for the Deaf , is a K-12 statewide school in West Trenton, Ewing Township, New Jersey. Its age range is pre-Kindergarten to age 21. The New Jersey Department of Education oversees the school. It is named after Marie Hilson Katzenbach.
Michigan School for the Deaf is a public K–12 school for deaf children in Flint, Michigan. It is under the Michigan State Board of Education.
Hawaiʻi School for the Deaf and the Blind (HSDB) is a public school for deaf and blind children in Honolulu, Hawaii. Operated by the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE), it has grades K–12.
Virginia School for the Deaf, Blind and Multi-Disabled at Hampton (VSDBM-H), also known as the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind-Hampton Campus (VSDB-Hampton) was a school for deaf and blind children in Hampton, Virginia. It was operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia.