Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children
INSIGHTS Volume 38 | Summer 2014
Dear Friends:
Welcome to the Summer 2014 edition of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children’s
newsletter, Insights! We can’t thank you enough for taking this opportunity to learn more about our
organization and the special students we serve.
As always, the summer edition of Insights features an article about the ultimate student success graduation. For members of the senior class, it also marks the end of their education at the School for
Blind Children; it can be an emotional and momentous occasion. We celebrate Natasha, Samantha, Sean
and Laicy and all of the hard work and perseverance it took to get to this pinnacle moment.
Our graduates this year have succeeded despite long odds, as their family members and our devoted
staff will attest. Family involvement is a critical ingredient for children to be successful in school. Studies
show that family engagement promotes many benefits for students including higher achievement and
better social skills and behavior. That is why parents, grandparents, siblings and other members of the
community play an integral part in the comprehensive educational process at the Western Pennsylvania
School for Blind Children.
Community members, like the Pitt Engineering students, featured on page 7, who are designing
computer applications to aid our students’ learning and development, are making a real difference in
our boys’ and girls’ lives. And of course, without the generous support of our donors and volunteers, our
vision of comprehensive supports and services for students with visual impairment could not be
realized.
I hope you read with interest this issue of the Insights, and should you like to join us in making real our
vision of a bright future for our students -- and make your mark on a remarkable institution -I invite you to contact me at 412-621-0100 or email: reevest@wpsbc.org.
Cordially,
Todd S. Reeves
Superintendent
MISSION Statement:
The Mission of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children is to be a leading educational facility
and Outreach provider. The School offers a full range of exceptional individualized special education
services fostering maximum independence for students with visual impairment, including blindness and
other challenges, and provides support and resources to families and the community.
Board of Trustees:
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
L. Van V. Dauler, Jr., President
Laura B. Gutnick, Vice President
Todd S. Reeves, Secretary
Susan McAleer, Treasurer
H. Scott Cunningham
Joel M. Helmrich
Joseph A. Massaro III
TRUSTEES
Albert W. Biglan, M.D.
Gabrielle R. Bonhomme, M.D.
Thomas A. Karet
Harry G. Kilvanick
Alan Lantzy, M.D.
Maryjean Lovett
James K. Martin
Carole Miner Schuman
Jennifer A. Shuckrow
Joseph C. Wassermann
HONORARY TRUSTEE
Ellen C. Walton
Congratulations Class of 2014
NATASHA BROWN
Daughter of Ms. Valarie Hamer
of Verona, Pennsylvania—Allegheny County
With ambition and determination, Natasha thrived at School where she enjoyed participating on the
adapted Beep Soccer and Baseball teams. Often acting as a mentor to other students, Natasha excelled
in her braille comprehension and communication skills. Described by her staff members as inquisitive,
motivated and helpful, her many on-campus vocational duties include working as a cashier at the Lion’s
Den, cleaning the Parent Guest Suite and working at the School’s Print and Copy Shop. Natasha says, “I’ll
miss swimming at school because it makes me feel so good and all my friends, especially Sammie, Sean
and Patrick who I’ve known since preschool.” In her leisure time, Natasha enjoys practicing her karate
and listening to her favorite radio station. After graduation, Natasha will attend the Blind and Vision
Rehabilitation Services Employment Transition program and Achieva’s Supported Employment Program.
Natasha will continue living in a supervised apartment setting through Mercy Health System.
SAMANTHA DE LA RIVA
Granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Domiano
of Leechburg, Pennsylvania—Westmoreland County
With a sparkle in her eyes and a beautiful smile, Samantha is a great friend to her classmates and enjoys
going on field trips and participating in group activities. Her educational team is especially proud of her
progress using a “yes – no” blink response to communicate and her work as a greeter at the Lion’s Den,
our school store. February 2014’s Student Success of the Month award winner, Sammie loves laughing
during morning joke time, dressing up for Halloween and hanging out with her best friend Jake. One of
Sammie’s favorite new activities is using her iPad to enhance her visual attending skills. Described as
cooperative and hard working, Samantha recently donated her hair to the charity Locks of Love which
provides hairpieces to children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. After graduation, Samantha
plans to attend the LAVI: Learning Adventures for the Visually Impaired adult day program, operated by
the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children, and live at home with her family.
SEAN TOMASIAK
Son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Tomasiak
of Donora, Pennsylvania—Washington County
According to his proud instructor, Sean is very goodhearted and is an easy going student who was a
pleasure to have in class. The lone bachelor of this year’s graduating class, Sean enjoyed recreation and
leisure time with his friends and exploring the Instructional Vision Center at WPSBC. Like many young
men his age, Sean likes to listen to music and play games on his iPad, which he controls using a switch
interface. Although he is unable to communicate traditionally, Sean uses his beautiful brown eyes to
convey attention, distress and interest. A fan of the television show, “Duck Dynasty,” Sean is very close
with this mother and his fellow Class of 2014 friend, Natasha, who has an uncanny knack of helping to
calm him down. Upon graduation, Sean plans to continue his connection with WPSBC by attending the
LAVI: Learning Adventures for the Visually Impaired adult day program and reside at home with his
family.
LAICY ZELENKY
Daughter of Mr. Randy Zelenky of Grassflat, Pennsylvania
and Ms. Carina Demi of Clearfield, Pennsylvania—Clearfield County
Described by staff members as a quick learner who is extremely independent, Laicy is a music aficionado
who enjoys listening to a wide variety of genres. Her favorite classes are gym and swimming and like
many girls her age she loves getting her nails painted and hair done. On campus, Laicy contributes
widely to the School community by working at the Lion’s Den as a pricing clerk, helping water plants in
the classroom and cleaning up after snack time. She excelled in Student Apartment class, showing
impressive work ethic while washing dishes and doing laundry. Her favorite recreational activities
include bouncing on an exercise ball, yoga, riding the adapted bicycle and playing the keyboard where
she shows amazing intuitive talent. Laicy’s impressive progress communicating and expressing herself
have helped her reach new levels of maturity and independence. After graduation, Laicy plans to attend
the Skills of Central Pennsylvania Adult Training Day program and reside at home with her family.
All Aboard The Grandparent Express
Strengthening An Important Connection
“Every time a child is born, a grandparent is born too,” said Arthur Kornhaber, grandparenting guru and
retired child psychiatrist. Grandparents play a significant role in children’s lives; as a caregiver, mentor,
pal, or pamperer. Recognizing that grandparents of children with special needs deserve special support,
the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children established the Grandparent Express program
sixteen years ago. Often lacking direct access to the resources available to their adult children - doctors,
teachers, therapists and other families of children with disabilities - grandparents can also benefit from
information about the nature of their grandchild’s disability, education or progress.
The Grandparent Express program is organized by a staff committee of six individuals and reflects
WPSBC’s commitment of providing support and resources to families of our students. Now one of the
most popular annual family support programs offered by the School, the events are part fun and
sociability, part food and entertainment, and part information and education. “I love coming here each
year,” said Bonnie Smalls, grandmother of seven-year-old student Shane Kelly. “It’s wonderful to get to
talk with all of the other grandparents, meet the incredible staff and to see Shane’s progress from year
to year.”
For each meeting of the Grandparent Express, participants are thematically transported to a different
location. They’ve been to Mexico, Italy and New Orleans to name a few. This year, a record-breaking
nearly 100 grandparents registered to attend the April 30, 2014 program, which was billed as “A Run for
the Roses” and inspired by the Kentucky Derby.
The grandparents started their morning by “gathering in the paddock” with refreshments and a light
breakfast. After a chance to catch up with friends and socialize with other grandparents, the attendees
were “off to the races” to visit their grandchild’s classroom. “The staff loves to show off to the
grandparents, proudly touting students’ progress,” explains Mary Bowser, a case manager who is part of
the Grandparent Express planning committee.
The morning concluded with a presentation called “The Triple Crown – CVI Phases I, II & III” by Outreach
Director and CVI Project Leader Beth Ramella. The session’s topic addressed the approximately 70% of
our enrolled students with Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI), a neurological disorder that affects the
visual pathways to the brain. Our grandparents were given practical information about the diagnosis and
helpful hints about how to encourage their grandchildren’s development.
Following the presentation, guests were invited for a “Taste of the Derby” lunch, featuring faux mint
juleps, pecan pie and beef brisket. An art show displaying a piece of art from each of our students was
available to view as well. Finally, the grandparents were encouraged to take part in the “Run for the
Money” and visit the school’s on-campus general store, the Lion’s Den, where they could purchase
School logo supplies and other gifts. Odds are everyone was a winner that day, with both grandparents
and their precious grandkids benefitting from the day of special programming. “This program is so
needed,” explained a grateful Glenn Whittle, grandfather of nine-year-old student Daniel. “The
fellowship with the other grandparents is so important; we know we are not alone.”
Game Changer:
New iPad Apps Developed by Pitt Students Make an Impact on WPSBC Students
While many college students play apps on their iPads, three University of Pittsburgh students have spent
time creating apps to benefit the boys and girls of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children.
Alexandra Delazio, Adam Smoulder, and Nick Zervoudis are freshman honor students in the Engineering
for Applications for Society Class, which is designed as a “service learning” opportunity. The unique class
offers students a chance to learn and develop skills necessary to succeed as an engineer by solving a real
problem of value to a local community organization.
WPSBC Speech Language Pathologists Deb Coletta and Jen Ellenberg noted that most commercially
available iPad apps are not accessible or user-friendly for our students with vision impairment and
multiple disabilities, a problem worth addressing by the Pitt Engineering students. More than just fun
and games, the iPad can be used as a tool for educators and students in promoting a wide range of skills
and development. So the Pitt students took on the challenge to develop apps specially tailored for our
pupils, like sixteen-year-old Courtney Bongiorno who had never been able to play iPad instructional
games like her peers. “These students’ work has changed Courtney’s life,” explained Coletta. “She
engages for over an hour on the iPad now, smiling and giggling.”
By using high contrast images, slowing down the speed of the instructional game and making the apps
compatible for use with a Bluetooth switch, students like Courtney can access appropriate games that
promote literacy, math skills and more.
In total, the trio developed five new apps that feature silly characters and sounds that are extremely
appealing to WPSBC students. They wrote the stories, provided the narration, drew the artwork and
recorded instruments as part of this special project, which they seemed to thoroughly enjoy. “It was a
lot of fun working on this, but being able to see the students use our app and empowering them is
incredible,” said Delazio.
After presenting the new apps to the School’s Speech Language Pathologists, Delazio, Smoulder and
Zervoudis helped install them on School iPads for our students’ use. The hope is to someday make the
games available for the general public to benefit more young folks with challenges like our students
face.
The collaboration was meaningful for all involved, teaching the Pitt students lessons above and beyond
what they can learn in a textbook. “I think we made a mark on them as much as they made a mark on
us,” said Coletta.
Because of the support of people like you,
each of our students is a success story.
Every day, our staff members face new challenges identifying effective ways to help each student we
serve develop and mature. Their work is made more efficient because of the resources made available
from the community. Contributions are used to purchase the latest adaptive equipment and supplies.
Having these tools helps our imaginative teachers prepare instructional programs, which open doors for
youngsters with severe disabilities.
Currently, 185 students are attending our School on a full-time basis. The girls and boys who attend the
School face many obstacles in acquiring an education. A typical enrolled student is legally blind and is
disabled further by conditions such as cerebral palsy, developmental delay and other profound health
impairments. Hundreds of other children with visual impairment from infancy to young adulthood from
throughout western Pennsylvania are benefiting from our Outreach Programs.
In order to operate this extraordinary facility and to provide the level of services our students and their
families have come to expect, we depend on you. Thank you for your consideration and interest in
helping to educate an exceptional group of deserving children.
2014 Summer Events Calendar
JUNE
4:
5:
6:
Preschool/Kindergarten Promotion Ceremony
Senior Recognition
Last Day of 2013/14 School Year
JULY
4-7:
14-25:
30:
Office Closed for Independence Day
Extended School Year Program
Family Day at WPSBC
AUGUST
25:
First Day of 2014/15 School Year
SEPTEMBER
13:
14:
Kiwanis Conference Golf Outing at Ponderosa Hills
“Cruisin’ for Causes” at Mercer Raceway Park to Benefit WPSBC
Insights is published twice a year by the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children. The School is a non-profit, private
chartered school approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. For information about the School, to arrange a tour or
for a speaker, call 412-621-0100.
Like us on Facebook to follow all the latest School updates at www.facebook.com/WPASchoolforBlindChildren
Mission Statement: The Mission of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children is to be a leading educational facility and
Outreach provider. The School offers a full range of exceptional individualized special education services fostering maximum
independence for students with visual impairment, including blindness and other challenges, and provides support and resources
to families and the community.