Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children
2011-2012 Annual Report
Envisioning New Paths to Success
Dear Friends,
As an educator, there is nothing more rewarding than witnessing a student’s personal
success. Observing a student traveling independently for the first time in a power
wheelchair or with a white cane; a child with visual impairment writing their first story
in braille; a youngster with severe disabilities feeding himself; a blind young adult
learning to shop in the community. These are some of the triumphs realized by the
students at the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children during the last year that
overwhelmed us with pride.
The everyday success stories of our boys and girls were the pinnacle of the 2011/12
school term, also made memorable with the start of year-long commemorations in
honor of our 125th anniversary. The anniversary’s theme -- “Envisioning New Paths to
Success” -- represents our commitment to helping students with visual impairment in
their voyage to higher levels of independence.
As we celebrate the School’s birthday, we reflect on our wishes for the hundreds of
students served through both our on-campus and outreach programs. A parent’s wish
for their child to walk or communicate. A young adult’s wish for meaningful
employment. But wishing to make these dreams a reality isn’t nearly enough. It takes
student perseverance and the hard work of staff and parents along with the generous
support of the community to realize these goals.
Thanks to friends like you, the School for Blind Children ensures the vision of a greater
tomorrow for youth confronted with a visual impairment. And as we celebrate our past,
we eagerly plan for the future. Our entire School community is embarking on our next
Strategic Plan, as well as applying for reaccreditation from the Middle States Association
of Colleges and Schools.
Our 125th anniversary year continues into the next school term, where we will dedicate
our new Urban Trail– an innovative on-campus path designed to help our students fine
tune vital travel training skills – which was made possible thanks to our generous
individual, group and foundation donors.
Thank you again for your interest in our School. Your commitment to making dreams
come true is a source of hope for our students and their families.
Happy Trails to You!
Todd S. Reeves
Superintendent
En Route to Education
Along their way towards increased independence, the students at the Western
Pennsylvania School for Blind Children are confronted with many obstacles. In addition
to their visual impairment, our enrolled school-age pupils have other serious physical
and cognitive disabilities that make accessing information difficult.
Unlike their sighted peers who learn concepts through rich visual experiences, students
with vision loss often miss or learn concepts in an incomplete or distorted way. In order
to fill in these missing pieces, our children and young adults train to master what is
known as the “expanded core curriculum.”
To provide a foundation for all learning, the expanded core curriculum empowers
students by addressing the distinctive set of challenges individuals without vision
encounter. Essential life skills such as how to travel in their environment, appropriate
social interaction, operating assistive technology and independent living concepts are
some of the learning components of the expanded core curriculum.
Helping the students and their families navigate the journey are our dedicated staff
members who are committed to developing each child’s maximum level of self-reliance.
Specialized instruction by teachers of the visually impaired and support services such as
occupational, physical and communication therapy, orientation and mobility training,
and intensive nursing care address the whole needs of our youngsters.
The School’s reputation as a pioneer in the field of special education is well-supported
throughout its long history. This tradition of excellence continued in the 2011/12 school
year as our staff further refined and enhanced programming to benefit our students and
our specialized field of education.
This commitment was reflected in our efforts to address the most common cause of
permanent visual impairment in children, Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI).
Approximately 65% of our students evidence CVI, a visual diagnosis caused by brain
abnormalities and not deficiencies of the eye. With proper intervention, students with
CVI can actually improve their visual functioning, thereby increasing the
likelihood of educational success.
A cross section of School teachers and therapists trained as “CVI Mentors” assessed 110
students in the 2011/12 school year. Working with our educational teams, the mentors
helped to plan and implement instructional strategies based on their findings.
By making changes such as eliminating visual clutter and adapting our classroom
environments and materials to specifically address their needs and preferences, our
students with CVI are marking remarkable strides using what vision they have to access
the world around them.
For 125 years, the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children has continuously
evolved to provide services that best suit student needs. We are proud of our legacy of
staying on the forefront of the education of the visually impaired. And while practices,
curriculum and technology will undoubtedly continue to change, rest assured the School
will continue to meet the challenges posed by each generation of students.
Navigating Through History » A look back at how far we’ve
come…
When the doors of the “Western Pennsylvania Institution for the Blind” first opened in
1887, six pupils began their first formal education. The number soon swelled to 21, with
another 30 applicants on the waiting list. At the time, the curriculum focused on literary
skills, music and manual training.
Today, more than 170 enrolled students are served annually. The curriculum
emphasizes the acquisition of life skills. Certified teachers of the visually impaired and
qualified therapists and health professionals collaborate on planning and implementing
effective, individualized educational programs.
The Road to Residential Life
At the School for Blind Children, nearly 25% of our boys and girls travel great distances far
from their families and the familiar confines of their homes, in order to access our highly
specialized and effective educational services. Offered to those who live in these outlying
areas or have medically related conditions that make it difficult to commute daily, the
School’s Residential Program operates Sunday evenings through Friday afternoons.
For parents adapting to the reality of raising a child with severe disabilities, deciding to
entrust the care of their son or daughter to someone else for five days week can be
extremely difficult and emotionally charged. The choice can have a tremendous impact on
your child’s future success, development and overall well-being.
Parents can take comfort that the nurturing, secure environment provided at our School
aims to replicate a home-like atmosphere where students can thrive. The entire campus
becomes a family unit, almost like an extended family living under the same roof. There are
school functions, club meetings and activities after school, along with social gatherings.
There are dorm rooms for the students to call home, an individualized dietary program and
twenty-four hour, qualified staff to look after them. And whether it’s through a phone call,
email or Skype video chat, parents and students are encouraged to maintain close contact
throughout the week.
Both before and after dinner, after-school programming blends teachable moments with
group activities that reinforce functional skills taught throughout the instructional day. Kids
might enjoy a performance by local musicians, participate in horticulture activities in the
greenhouse, work on daily living skills in the Student Apartment, play t-ball in the gymnasium
or benefit from creative expression with arts and crafts.
On Friday afternoons, the students leave campus, to remain at home for the weekend. Then,
on Sunday afternoons, the cycle repeats itself and the students arrive back on campus to
begin another week of instruction and learning, along with socializing with their friends and
being involved in their over-all school experience.
As a way to mark the School’s special anniversary, the Residential Program incorporated
several activities during 2011/12 including hosting the 125th Winter Gala Dance in February.
Students, staff, family members and friends celebrated the milestone by dancing the night
away to tunes spun by a professional disc jockey and enjoying birthday cake and
refreshments.
Joining in on the Residential Department’s after-school fun were many of our day students,
as part of the School’s “Transition Academy.” Available for up to three days per week from
3:00 – 5:15 p.m., the Transition Academy provides day students the opportunity to further
develop important instructional and social goals outlined in their educational plans while
participating in leisure time pursuits and stimulating activities.
Navigating Through History » A look back at how far we’ve
come…
The School’s first annual Braille Rally was held in 1964. The tradition endures today and
has been hosted since 1973 by the dedicated members of the Vintage Tin Car Club of
Pittsburgh. Providing our students with a one-of-a-kind opportunity, it is one of the
Residential Program’s yearly highlights. With the wind in their hair, students stop along
the way at check points where they draw from a deck of cards to try and collect the best
five-card poker hand.
Onward to Outreach
The road of life can sometimes be a little bumpy. Everybody needs a little help along the
way. This is especially true for students with disabilities who are forced to take the path
less traveled, facing almost insurmountable road blocks and barriers as they try to
access an education and learn about the world around them.
For the hundreds of students who are blind and visually impaired who attend their local
public schools within western Pennsylvania, the School for Blind Children’s Outreach
Department provides them, their families and teachers a full menu of resources and
support they need to plot the course for educational success.
From conducting pre-school vision screenings and developing educational plans to
delivering direct instruction in travel training or braille literacy, the Outreach
Department is committed to aiding our friends throughout the region in reaching their
highest potential. We are proud to partner with colleagues in school districts and
intermediate units to supplement educational services for children with visual
impairments, with or without additional disabilities.
Serving toddlers to young adolescents transitioning into adulthood, our Outreach efforts
continued to thrive in 2011/12, providing direct service to more than 100 students
hailing from all parts of western Pennsylvania.
We meet our youngest clients through the TODDLER Program which provides free, vital
early intervention services to Pennsylvania families of infants and toddlers who are
legally blind or have suspected blindness.
As a supplement to the TODDLER Program, the School also offers the P.A.L.S. (Play,
Achieve, Learn and Socialize) Play Group. Youngsters and their families have the
opportunity to socialize, play and learn with other children with visual impairments.
Directed by experienced professionals, the children benefit from small group
instruction, peer interaction and activities designed to meet their individual needs.
Together with Dr. Christine Roman, the School’s Outreach Department offered five
different days of vision evaluations for students diagnosed with Cortical Visual
Impairment (CVI). During these clinics, non-enrolled students living in Pennsylvania
received a full assessment, consultative support and recommendations for
programming from a renowned leader in the field of vision.
The Outreach Department’s year culminated with the successful “CVI: Visions of Change
Conference” held on June 15 - 16, 2012. The national conference featured an array of
topics such as identification and assessment techniques, educational strategies and
supports services designed to aid educators, therapists, medical professionals and
family members of individuals with CVI.
Navigating Through History » A look back at how far we’ve
come…
For more than a century, the School enrolled students with the single disability of
blindness. But in the 1970s, federal legislation was passed that required public schools
accommodate blind students. At the same time, advances in medical technology
increased the survival rates of children born with multiple disabilities. These two
developments guided the School’s decision to alter its Mission to meet the needs of
students who had complex medical challenges in addition to their visual impairment. By
1986, the transformation was complete and the on-campus School program was
devoted to this special population.
Outreach efforts began in 1981, with early intervention programming for infants and
toddlers. In 2008, the scope of our services expanded exponentially to include programs
for school aged students with visual impairment that attend their local school.
Journey Ahead: The Course to Child Care & the Adult Program
Education is a life-long adventure. It begins in early childhood, the most rapid period of
human development and continues throughout adulthood. Recognizing the potential to
positively impact these phases of growth that extend beyond the school-age years, the
School for Blind Children embarked on two new programs in 2011/12 to serve
individuals with visual impairments both younger and older than ever before.
Choosing the right child care program is a tricky task for any parent. If your new baby or
toddler has special needs, the issues become even more complicated. Providing hope
and options for parents, the School introduced an integrated child care program this
year that blends young children with visual impairments with typically developing
sighted peers.
“A Child’s VIEW: Vision In Extraordinary Ways” is a program of the Early Childhood
Center located on the campus of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children. It
provides comprehensive child care opportunities for typically developing children and
those with visual impairments ages 6 weeks to 5 years. This innovative program is
designed to benefit all children, no matter their ability level or sensory deficits.
On the other end of the age spectrum, finding appropriate post-graduate placements
for many of our School alumni has become increasingly difficult. Our philosophy is
simple: even though our students have turned 21 years old and are entering the next
chapter of their lives, they deserve the same level of care and engagement they
received at our School and to live meaningfully with dignity and respect.
In response to concerns regarding the lack of suitable adult programming, funding and
placement opportunities for medically fragile adults with significant disabilities in our
area, the School piloted a post-school adaptive living skill service and vocational training
day program for clients ages 21-25 in September 2011. The construction of such an
initiative is unique among schools for the blind and we are proud to offer this program
in conjunction with the Community College of Allegheny County.
Called “LAVI: Learning Adventures for the Visually Impaired,” the program is housed on
the School’s Oakland campus and operated on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays
from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Seven adults, all 2011 graduates of the School for Blind
Children, were offered comprehensive instruction in life skills, socialization and selfcare.
The success of LAVI is indicated by the projected increased enrollment for 2012/13 with
ten young adults slated to take part. In addition, the program will be expanded to four
days a week. But our greatest pride comes in knowing we are making a tangible
difference in the lives of students and their families.
“Without this program, our son would be isolated at home with a nurse. He is extremely
happy now and enjoys being with his classmates and the incredible staff. There truly is a
great need for this program,” said a parent of a LAVI participant.
Make Way for Community Involvement
It was the collective vision of community members that led to the establishment of our
organization. From those earliest days to the present, our supporters have served as a
beacon, guiding the School through the peaks and valleys of its long history.
But the School community extends far beyond our walls, into the wider world. We
recognize the magnitude of our students’ entire family in the educational process. The
Parent Teacher Organization, popular Grandparent Express club and SibShop program
for brothers and sisters contribute to the collaborative unity so central to our Mission.
Further, our dedicated corps of volunteers enrich school life by donating their time and
talents. Service club members, like those in the Lions and Kiwanis clubs throughout our
region, have provided unwavering support for decades.
As the cornerstone of the 125th anniversary celebration, the School conducted a special
fundraising effort in 2011/12 for the development of an Urban Trail on our campus that
will provide a safe and stimulating environment for our students to learn and practice
important life skills.
Scheduled for an October 2012 dedication, the Urban Trail will be an exploratory
classroom to practice orientation and mobility skills while also providing a source of
sensory stimulation and place to enjoy the outdoors. This new campus highlight was
made possible thanks to the generosity of countless individuals, groups and charitable
organizations.
At no time in our history has a parent ever been charged for enrolling their child at our
School. Unfortunately, government reimbursement does not cover the costs of the
intensive programs necessary to change lives and smooth the path to a better future for
our students.
Thus, the School’s legacy of providing exceptional educational services to blind children
is the result of the support and encouragement of generations of people. Donations are
vital and aid our more than 170 enrolled youngsters, as well as the nearly 200 boys and
girls with visual impairment throughout the state served annually through our Outreach
Programs.
Brake for Board & Staff
Executive Committee:
L. Van V. Dauler, Jr., President
Laura B. Gutnick, Vice President
Todd Reeves, Secretary
Susan McAleer, Treasurer
James M. Ferguson III
Harry G. Kilvanick
Joseph A. Massaro III
Trustees:
Albert W. Biglan, M.D.
Gabrielle R. Bonhomme, M.D.
H. Scott Cunningham
Joel M. Helmrich
Thomas A. Karet
Alan Lantzy, M.D.
Maryjean A. Lovett
James K. Martin
Carole Miner Schuman
Jennifer A. Shuckrow
Joseph C. Wassermann
Honorary Trustee:
Ellen C. Walton
Management:
Todd Reeves, Executive Director/Superintendent/Secretary of the Board
Susan McAleer, Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer
Christine Roman, Special Assistant to the Superintendent
Barbara Cunningham, Employee Relations Director
Brenda Egan, Early Childhood Program Director
Barry Fell, Related Services Director
Maryanne Loebig, Health Services & Residential Night Director
Beth Ramella, Outreach Director
Rachelle Rectenwald, Transitional Program Director
Rhonda Curry, Residential Night Manager
Nilda Delerme, Transitional Manager
Jan Hackel, Early Childhood Manager
Jan Husser, Intermediate Manager
Dennis Kwiatkowski, Buildings and Grounds Manager
Jillian Pritts, Institutional Advancement Manager
Sharon Schmidt, Activities Manager
Michelle Wilczek, Residential Manager
Jenifer Brander, Lead Behavior Specialist
Amanda Gallagher, Lead Physical Therapist
Mark Kislan, Lead Occupational Therapist
Financial Statements
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
June 30, 2011
Assets
Cash and short term note
Other Current Assets
Investments and Funds Held in Trust
Net Property, Plant and Equipment
Total
Liabilities and Net Assets
Accrued wages and expenses
Accounts payable
Bonds payable
Bond premium/Interest payable
Unrestricted Net Assets
Restricted Net Assets
Total
$
$
$
$
2,391,355
861,352
195,962,871
25,684,424
224,900,002
$
5,772,699
481,682
15,000,000
124,200
185,039,212
18,482,209
224,900,002
$
STATEMENT OF CURRENT OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Fiscal Year Ended
June 30, 2011
Revenue and Support
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
$
9,837,631
School Districts and Intermediate Units
6,910,820
Federal Revenue
818,249
Contributions and Private Support
1,366,345
Net Interest and Dividends
1,441,324
Total
$
20,374,369
Expenses
Salaries and Benefits
Contracted Services
Operations and Depreciation
Supplies and other Program Costs
Total
Net Gain (Loss)
$
$
$
June 30, 2010
17,034,727
1,090,669
1,646,529
1,502,716
21,274,641
(900,272)
$
2,950,696
901,200
161,205,863
24,806,245
189,864,004
5,543,041
451,906
15,000,000
130,410
152,459,822
16,278,825
189,864,004
Fiscal Year Ended
June 30, 2010
$
$
$
$
$
9,894,412
6,973,475
946,242
1,410,577
1,656,481
20,881,187
16,686,922
1,201,137
1,707,686
1,410,779
21,006,524
(125,337)
NOTES
1. The financial statements have been prepared on the accrual basis. Accordingly, revenues and support are recorded when earned
and expenses are recognized when liabilities are incurred.
2. Depreciation has been recorded using the straight line method of depreciation over the estimated useful lives of the assets.
Buildings are depreciated over forty years, building improvements over fifteen years, machinery and equipment and furniture and
fixtures over ten years, and vehicles over four years.
3. Bequests, realized gains or losses, and unrealized gains or losses are not included in the Statement of Current Operating Activities.
4. Investments and funds held in trust are stated at market value.
5. The June 30, 2010 financial statements will be audited by Grossman, Yanak & Ford, Certified Public Accountants.
Bequests
The difference between a minimal education and an extraordinary one for the children served
by our School is due, in large part, to the support we receive from our valued friends and
donors. The School for Blind Children receives appropriation from the state and local school
districts, but those funds alone do not come close to meeting all of the needs of our special
students.
Each child here has a unique story. Collectively, they have all faced unusual odds. Believing that
good education will bring about many positive changes, our staff members try to make each day
count. It is difficult for these youngsters to learn new skills. With perseverance and opportunity,
even the students who are the most challenged by physical, cognitive and sensory disabilities
make progress.
The following pages list the names of the generous people who helped to support the School
over the past 124 years by contributions through wills or bequests. These vital and meaningful
planned gifts underscore the donor’s commitment to the organization’s long–term success.
There are many ways to show your support, for more information on how you can help provide
learning that lasts a lifetime, please contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at 412-6210100, email prittsj@wpsbc.org, or visit our website: www.wpsbc.org.
Louis I. Aaron
Anna Elizabeth Abbott
William M. Achhammer
Louis Adamovitch
Abraham Adelman
Irma N. Agnew
Virginia Aiken
Charles M. Alexander
C.M. Alexander
Grace R. Alster
Charlotte M. Anderson
Rose C. McHugh Anderson
Charles Arbuthnot
Mary E. Armstrong
Zella Armstrong
Joseph A. Aronson
Emma L. Arthurs
Raymond Artz
William T. Aurentz
Sarah S. Austen
Fannie Reese Ayers
Virginia Bach
Ronald T. Bachmann
Morris Baer
Marie A. Bagwell
Utilles Baird
Georgie C. Baker
Ralph W. Baker
Elizabeth M. Bankel
James W. Bannister
Howard O. Barnes
Jean Barnhart
Anna Bowles Bartley
Lawrence Basile
Lucien Graham Bauer
Zelma Smith Bausch
Mary Bayard
Susan Bayard
William H. Bechtold
Anna E. Beck
Flora M. Beck
Marion J. Becker
William G. Beckman
Jean K. Beggs
Ann Marie Behen
Dorothy Jones Beidler
Martha L. Belknap
Thompson Bell
E.F. Thompson for Elizabeth Bendrodt
John R. Benson
Phillis L. Bentz
Margaret Evans Berdan
Lillian Berkofsky
J. D. Bernd
Robert N. Bethell
W. S. Bickart
Julius S. Bickert
Emma W. Bihler
Elsie L. Bihlman
Sophia Binder
Mary M. Bindley
Myra J. Binsley
Susanna Bischel
Marion Blakeley
Anna Rachel Blanchard
Adele L. Blayney
Elise K. Bloom
Frederick W. Bloom
Emma M. Blum
Henry F. Boettcher
R. H. Boggs
Laura K. Bogler
Rinehart Bohn
Conrad H. Bokerman
George P. Bollman
Laura H. Borland
Henry W. Borntraeger
Helen B. Boswell
Louis Bowers
Dean A. Boyd
Callie Bragdon
Olive F. Bragdon
Elizabeth J. Brandon
Herman Brandt
Arthur E. Braun
Ethel C. Brawn
Kathryn E. Breitweiser
Mary E. Bridges
Emma Dale Harrison Broadhurst
Alice E. Brock
Anna Cloyde Brooks
Charles A. Brooks
Daisy C. Brown
Russell V. Brown
Carl W. Brueck
Grace H. Buck
Shirley Budke
William C. Buechner
Henry Buhl
Emma V. Bulger
Louise G. Bumgarner
Helen Borland Burchfield
Sara M. Burckart
Zita M. Byrne
Katharine P. Caldwell
Eleanor B. Calhoun
Clyde William Campbell
Emma M. Campbell
Henrietta T. Campbell
Margaret Shaw Campbell
Virginia Campbell
Walter J. Campbell
Grace Carson
Julia Carson
Robert Carson
Evelyn E. Catanzaro
Milton Chait
Esther Chianese
Elizabeth R. Childs
J. Mabon Childs
Rose A. Choffin
Elizabeth G. Cisneros
Armede B. Clark
Marie E. Clark
Ella May Clarke
Helen Clarke
Helen P. Classic
Sara Agnes Clendenning
Mary Louise Cochrane
Carrie Cohen
Kate Cohen
Charlotte Collison
Cora Conley
Virginia French Conley
Vaseleke H. Constandy
Katherine Hunter Conroy
Grace Coulter
Sarah J. Craig
Dorothea Crane
Estella Wood Crane
Edwin R. Crawford
Stanley E. Crawford
Jane S. Cromer
Floyd W. Crowne
Grace A. Dailey
Alice H. Danahey
Samuel H. Darrall
Laura Jane Daryman
Mary E. Davidson
James R. Davis, Jr.
Julie Marie Davis
Lottie Davis
Bessie R. Dawson
Margaret E. Dawson
Harvey Deaktor
Samuel Deaktor
Lora M. Deane
Harry D. Deloe
Alexander Dempster
Peter Denby
Loretta DePerro
Mary DePippa
Rose Derov
A. J. DeRoy
Fredericka Detrich
Alice Devey
Sara T. Dewsnapp
Emily Gertrude Davis Dible
Susanna Diffenbacher
Harry F. Domhoff
Jessie J. Domka
Amanda B. Donahue
Ruth E. Donnally
J. J. Donnell
Ruth E. Donnell
Tille Dorsey
Elizabeth Dougherty
Joseph M. Dougherty
Mary C. Dougherty
Ethel R. Douglas
Germaine A. Douteau
Alma F. Drake
Paul H. Drees
Lois A. Duer
William H. Duff, III
Elsie G. Duga
Louis S. Duncan
Mary L. Duncan
Mary I. Dunne
Thomas N. Dunne
O. M. Eakins
Dorothy M. Eardley
Mary E. Earl
Eliza T. Edwards
Margaret K. Ege
Benjamin Ehrenberger
Josephine M. Eichenlaub
Ola Edeburn Eick
Marjory S. Eiseman
Carl Walter Elsholz
Georgia Elton
June Y. Enelow
Leonard Enelow
Harry N. Englert
E. Marguerite Erhard
Elizabeth Braun Ernst
Ann Marie Esposito
Arthur Evans
Howard S. Evans
Oliver L. Evans
Thomas R. Evans, II
Laura Evans-Ford
Lois H. Fabiani
Mathilda Fagan
Dallas Darow Fahey
Patricia Fallecker
Frances A. Faloon
Albert Farber
Rachel A. Farrington
Evelyn Fawell
Olga M. Fay
Viola E. Fehr
Mary Warfel Ferguson
Etta Pearle Fincke
Charles Finegan
J. B. Finley
Margaret H. Finley
Jeanette Finn
Helen J. Fleck
Lloyd Fleming
Robert W. Flenniken
Alice M. Flick
Daniel C. Flory
Myrtle Forsha
Gertrude Forster
Curtis S. Foster
Fay Foster
James Foster
Louis Foster
Ella H. Frank
Vera G. Franklin
Emanuel Frederick
Harry W. Freye
Jacob C. Fry
Grace A. Frye
Thomas B. Frye
Margaret F. Fugh
Carl J. Fuhr
Helen Ruth Fullerton
Louis M. Fushan
Jessie M. Galbraith
Katherine Clapp Galbraith
Margery Galer
Elisabeth E. Gannon
Gyla W. Gardiner
Esther L. Garber
Minne B. Gerst
Charles C. Gerwig
Elizabeth H. Gettman
Flora M. Gilbert
Thelma Giles
Mable D. Gilleland
J. Laird Gillespie
Thelma H. Gillespie
Charles H. Gilmore
Ann Gilpin
Fannie I. Glass
Sara Glenn
Harry G. Goff
Minnie Klein Goldberg
George Goodwin
Thomas C. Gordon
Alice Morgan Graff
Charles H. A. Graham
Caroline Graper
Ella Graubart
Albert B. Graver
Clara E. Graver
R. D. Gray
Ruth T. Gray
Mildred S. Greer
Sadie Grekin
Lillie Griffith
Margaret E. Grimpe
Michael A. Gross
Mildred Gross
Arthur M. Grossman
Martha Guenzer
Agnes M. Gulentz
Essie V. Gullett
Augusta S. Gundlach
Margaret A. Gundlach
Charles E. Gundy
Frances S. Gunn
Stella H. Guthrie
George Halpern
Lillian G. Hapern
Anne Halpin
George V. Hamilton
Marianne Rea Hamilton
Benjamin Hammond
Irma McDonald Harding
Edith H. Harper
Lola Harrison
Eliza D. Hartley
Helen Hartley
Goldyne Hartman
Mabel Daley Hartman
Mary K. Hartzell
Ida Hasson
Lloyd J. Hayden
Minnie B. Hayden
Charles Hays
Robert E. Hays
R. M. Head
Alvin D. Headrick
Gertrude B. Heard
James D. Heard
John J. Heard
Jessie O. Heasley
Annie May Hegeman
Anna Mae Heinlein
Hazel Helm
William A. Henderson
Carl C. Henning
Suzanne O. Henry
Dolly L. Hensel
Eva Herbst
Margaret M. Heron
Oliver S. Hershman
H. W. Hespenheide, Jr.
Harriet Hespenheide
Virginia V. Hewitt
Margaret Heyl
Joseph Hicklin
Anna A. Hicks
Lewis W. Hicks
Melinda Morrow Hicks
Wenman A. Hicks
William W. Hicks
Edna P. Hoag
D. Hoburg
E. Hoburg
Dorothea Van Buren Hoehl
Roxie Snyder Hoehl
Bertha C. Hoffrichter
Christopher Holl
Jane Holmes
Nathaniel Holmes
Philip Edward Horn
Marie L. Hornberger
Portia T. Hosler
Charles E. Hoting
Mary E. Hoting
Evelyn H. Housley
May Howard
Mary A. Howe
Clara Boehm Howell
Nancy Howell
Frieda E. Hoy
Alexander Hreachmack
Rose M. Hughes
Mary A. Hughes Hunt
Helen M. Hurst
Irene G. Hutchinson
Nannie A. Igram
Grace I. Irwin
Albert Isay
Mathilde Ittel
Fleda F. Iversen
John Jablonsky
Gertrude Jenny
Mary Jernberg
Fern MacLure Jobe
Laura T. Johnson
Agnes M. Johnston
Dorothy Layman Jones
Elizabeth G. Jones
Mary H. Jones
Thomas Lewis Jones
Helen Grace Jordon
Mary Junker
Oliver B. Kalar
Anna M. Kambach
Helen M. Karey
Rachel Katzenmeyer
G. A. Herman Kauffeld
Ethel Kay
Elizabeth H. Keating
Dorothy M. Kelly
Vivian Kelly
Nell Kennerdell
Annie Given Kerr
Laura Ketterer
Beatrice King
Fannie M. King
Willis L. King, Jr.
Francis H. Kirker
Mathilda Klages
Samuel Sandor Klein
Raymond F. Klinzing
Beatrice Kohn
Margaret B. Kohn
Pearl O. Kramer
Arthur A. Kridel
Edith G. Krueger
Louise Kumer
Louise S. Kumer
George W. Kummer
Elbert N. Kunkle
Carol Kurtz
Norman Kuzma
Florence Barrett Ladd
Walter J. Laitsch
Bertha M. Landau
Ethel LaSalle
Hilda H. Laub
Henry A. Laughlin
Josiah Lazar
Robert G. Lea
Anna Ledrich
John M. Lee
Lillian F. Leff
Elizabeth LeGoullon
Leo Lehman
Myra Love Lermann
Bell McC. Lessenberry
D. D. Lessenberry
Yetta Levenson
David Levison
Ralph Levison
Sanford A. Levy
Harold J. Lewis
Laura E. Linke
Henry E. Linton
Richard Little
Dorothy Livingston
Margaret A. Livingstone
Marie Locher
Ida A. Lockhart
A. Howard Logan
Giambattista Lombardi
Helen Londo
Albert M. Long
Jeannette Long
Lillian Lonkowski
Sara H. H. Lopatnikoff
Emma Luderer
Ellen Ludwig
Margaret Lyle
Marguerite MacIntosh
Louise Maeder
Ella J. Maher
Annie W. Mahood
Emile Majerus
Nelle Mallison
Ida Mann
Julia Marchulinas
Ben Mardowitz
Melvin Markowitz
Julia Marks
Elsie G. Marshall
Irene Marshall
Anna Z. Martier
Elizabeth D. Martin
Fannie Martin
Nellie C. Martin
S. S. Marvin
Sara Jane Mascaro
Martha Lockhardt Mason
Mary J. Maund
Philomena Mauro
Mary H. Maury
Hugh McAffee
Katherine R. McAleer
Elizabeth Nelson McBride
Evaline B. McBride
Emma M. McCall
Alice M. McCann
Paul J. McCann
Grace C. McCombs
Aileen McCullough
Jayne E. McDaniel
Nell A. McDonough
Edmund McElwain
Kate G. McFadyen
Annabelle Livingston
McKerahan
Helen J. McKesson
Helen R. Milar
Jesse C. McMillan
Florence D. McMillen
David C. McNary
Elizabeth J. McPherson
Mary McPherson
Howard W. Meider
Jennie King Mellon
Sara Mendelson
Ethel E. Merkamp
Louis A. Mertz
Celia Mervis
Willa Metz
Elizabeth K. Metzger
Bernard Meyer
Helen R. Milar
Annora S. Miller
Charles S. Miller*
Edith S. Miller
Ella B. Miller
Ida Mae Miller
Francis B. Miller
Mary Jane Miller*
Mildred Miller*
Samual H. Miller
Torrence Miller
Ernestine T. Moenius
Jean Molchan
Clara H. Moore
Edna Gray Moore
Thomas B. Moreland
Pauline Morgan
Ruth E. Morgan
Catharine G. Morrow
Edith B. Morse
Carolyn Mortensen
Margaret Irene Moser
Jessie Movizzo
Charlotte Murray
Harry M. Murray
Margaret C. Murray
Wilfrid Murtland
Nellie A. Myers
Helen Donhoff Neely
Mary F. Nelson
Theodore Neppach
Regina U. Nestor
John Nesuta
Rose Neuman
Maxine Newcomer
Emma Nickel
Joseph Nicklin
Mary C. Niebaum
Ida J. Niemann
Howard A. Noble
William Norris
Fulton Clark Noss
Jane F. Novak
Mary M. Oberlin
Irene O’Brien
Thomas J. O’Donnel
Nelle M. Oliver
J. Henry O’Neill
Josephine T. O’Neill
M. Oppenheimer
Clara A. Opperman
Rebecca J. Packer
Christopher L. Painter
Jacob Painter, Jr.
Mary D. Parkhill
Alex H. Patterson
Jacob W. Paul
Margaret S. Paul
Helen Penn
John P. Penny
Virginia Peters
George Pfeil
Charles J. Phillips
Myrtle C. Phillis
Karl A. Pillow
Titus G. Pope
Henry Kirke Porter
John Porterfield
Emily Powell
Amilia C. Proft
James A. Quinn
Helen M. Ragner
John R. Ranson
Dixie Walker Rea
Frances Rea
Elsie Rearick
Flora E. Reeg
Victor C. Reiber
William R. Reichle
Lois E. Reid
Wilson H. Remmel
Barbara Weinman Rickert
Mary E. Rieck
Earl H. Riefer
Matilda A. Rieger
Hilda S. Rieland
Dorothy Roach*
Alice E. Robertson
Elizabeth R. Robinson
Joseph G. Robinson
Martha J. Robinson
Glen K. Rodemoyer
Marie Rohrer
Lucille R. Roithner
Samuel Marks Rose
Charles J. Rosenbloom
Freda Rosenblum
Dorothy Peoples Ross
Elizabeth Weaver Roth
Charlotte Rubenstein
Mary L. Rudolf
Wilma Ruf
Florence Rumbaugh
Mildred Rupp
Paul D. Sack
Elizabeth Salzer
Helen M. Santillo
Minnie Sartoris
Frank C. Sauer
Loretta A. Sauer
Miller C. Schafer
William. E. Schafer
Mary E. Schenley
Irving Schiffman
June Schiffman
Fred Schiller
Howard M. Schirra
Ethel R. Schmidt
Garnet B. Schmidt
Irene M. Schmidt
Ruth B. Schmidt
Paul Schmitt
Lucy Ames Schmitz
Virginia Schomaker
Mollie Schonfield
Gretchen Schoonmaker
James M. Schoonmaker
Rebeka C. Schoonmaker
William F. Schoonmaker
Simon Schreiber
Wilhelmine Schreiber
Harry A. Schroedel
Letty F. Schulga
Paul G. Schultz
Charles E. Schultz
Charles H. Schultz
Elizabeth F. Schwartz
Paul H. Schweizer
John B. Scott
Joseph Scully
Rose Marie Scully
Issac Seder
Margaret K. Seely
Richard B. Seib
Horace Luther Seifert
Frank Sepic, Jr.
Samuel Lloyd Shank
Barbara Shirk Shaw
John G. Sheafer
Hyman Shear
Jeanette B. Shear
Helen E. Sheffel
Joseph R. Shermer
Rose Levitt Shermer
William Sherwin
Leo S. Shipkowski
Harold G. Shirk
Norma Jackson Shirk
G. Albert Shoemaker
Ida Mae Shoemaker
Catherine Showers
John Shubelka, Jr.
Lena Sievwright
Luella M. Simonton
Ethel Seavey Simpson
Pearl I. Simpson
Meyer H. Sivitz
Jean M. Slack
Vera Slater
Vera H. Slater
Carol Sloan
Louis M. Sloan
Hilda E. Sloop
Catherine M. Slowey
Edwin A. Smith
Esther Smith
Frances L. Smith
Marie R. Smith
Mabel L. Smith
Marion H. Smith
William M. Smith
William Metz Smith
Mrs. George C. Sneathen
Evelyn Carhart Snyder
H. C. Snyder
Mary Elise Snyder
Carrie Haws Sobey
Amelia Solomon
Alberta L. Sowash
Charles H. Spang
Norman Spang
Marjorie Spector
George J. Stanley
Martha S. Stanley
Wilmer T. Starkey
William Steele
Viola Steelman
Anna M. Steffler
Christina F. Steibel
Marie K. Steinecke
Paula Steinmetz
Mary A. Stenger
Elizabeth B. Stephan
Josephine A. Stephens
Marguerite Stevenson
Dolores Stewart
Ruth Stewart
Ambrose H. Stiffler
Marie M. Stockdale
Helen M. Stolzenbach
Emily Stoops
Ruth A. Stott
George Strasser
Mary Agnes Stuckey
Bertha E. Succop
Dorothy M. Suckling
Rosalie T. Suess
Grace Z. Sugerman
Helen W. Sullivan
Valerie Supuran
Mary Crocker Sutton
Mildred Sutton
Olive E. Swank
Gwen G. Swart
Helene I. Tadowsky
Charles L. Taylor
Margaret F. Taylor
William Thaw
Pearl L. Thayer
William G. Thiele*
Vesta Thomas
Hazel O. Thompson
Hazel Van Buren Thompson
Marie N. Thompson
Oscar G. Tiedeman
Mary Cushing Tiotus
Elmer F. Toomey
Mary R. D. Torrance
Ernest Trent
Matilda S. Trudal
Mrs. Dagmar J. Turner
Frances Turner
Lillian W. Turner
W. Alfred Turner
Cora M. Tustin
Anna C. Unverzaget
Murmon T. Von Ordstrand
Ella D. Vaughn
Virginia D. Viverette
Agnes Voelker
Elizabeth M. Vogeley
Helene B. Volkwein
Wilhelmina Wagner
Frances C. Walker
Mary Elizabeth Walker
Rheyna Miller Walker
Forest F. Wallerstedt
Lena Sisco Walter
Elzey Thomas Walton
Dorothy Washchyshak
Marian Waugaman
William Weil
Joseph Weisbrod
Edith E. Weitershausen
Anna Welch
Mary Wellington
Ethel M. Wendell
Peggy Lee Wentzel
Elizabeth P. Wertz
Lorine A. White
Elizabeth C. Whitehall
Florence B. Whitwell
Daisy A. Wickham
Jennie C. Widdman
Sara Cancelliere Wiegand
Myron P. Wiegand
Jebba Dixon Wiggin
Kathryn J. Wilcox
Frederick W. Wiley
Audrey E. Will
Cora Hubbard Williams
Joseph Williams
Marie K. Williams
David B. Wilson
Mabel (Mary) R. Gorman Wilson
Herman Windt
Charles Winfield
Hilda E. Winterling
Anna C. Wise
Marion S. Wissman
Patricia Witherow
Harry F. Wixfort
Helen M. Woerner
Helen Woerner
Mary B. Wolff
Betty Ann Wood
Winifred Woods
Grace Eisaman Wright
Eugene S. Wyler
John M. Yahres
Laura Yost
Helen Young
Margaret Young
Martha Young
Olga Yurkovich
Grace Zahnisger
Hattie I. Ziegler
Howard G. Ziegler
Margaret I. Zimmerman
Ange L. Zinkand
Katherine M. Zinkil
Raymond Zwolski
Nora C. Zyde
A cumulative list of bequests from wills and estates.
Denotes bequests which were received between July 1, 2010 & June 30, 2011.
Mission Statement:
The mission of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children is to be a leading
institution for providing quality special education that foster maximum independence
for children and young adults with visual impairment and multiple disabilities.
Furthermore, the School’s Outreach efforts are designed to assist all western
Pennsylvania youth with visual impairments to reach their full potential by delivering
programs and services to them and their families.
Writer/Editor: Jillian Pritts
Design: MarketSpace Communications
Photography: Terry Clark
Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children
201 North Bellefield Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA 15213-1499 | 412-621-0100 | www.wpsbc.org