Perkins School For The Blind

Perkins is a progressive, multi-faceted organization committed to improving the lives of people with blindness and deafblindness all around the world. Our five areas of focus operate every day to carry out Perkins’ aspirational mission. Our organization is driven by a proven team of experts. Our history of excellence pushes us to actively seek the next innovation the world holds. We are Perkins – ever evolving to meet the challenge. The Perkins mission is to provide education and services that build productive, meaningful lives for children and adults around the world who are blind, deafblind or visually impaired, including those with additional disabilities. Areas of Focus: Perkins consists of five distinct lines of business that collaborate on local, national and global levels that work together every day to change what it means to be blind. Perkins School for the Blind, which serves approximately 200 students on campus, and operates as the headquarters for our Community Services programs including itinerant services, independence courses for public school students, evaluations and assessments for communities, and training for professionals. Perkins International, which impacts the lives of thousands of children, families, educators and professionals every year. Perkins nternational works to develop sustainable capacity in 67 countries through local, on-the-ground partnerships, and provides resources, training and advocacy to improve the lives of the 4.5 million children around the world without access to education due to blindness. Perkins Solutions, which provides innovative assistive technology products and consulting services to people, organizations and governments around the world to empower people who are blind or visually impaired to reach their full potential. Product offerings range from the classic mechanical Perkins Brailler to cutting-edge tools such as the LightAide. Perkins eLearning, an online portal designed to provide resources and support to anyone, anywhere, in the field of blindness education. Perkins eLearning leverages their reputation as a teacher of teachers by offering high-quality webcasts and webinars on a variety of topics. They also provide professional development and graduate level credits to educators through online workshops. A recent grant from the Gates Foundation for Perkins eLearning is providing financial support for this critical sharing of resources. Perkins Library, which circulates more than 530,000 items in braille, audio, electronic and large print formats to about 28,000 patrons in the U.S. The Library has served patrons since 1835 and is one of the oldest accessibility services in the country.

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