Saving A Special Place: Staff Battle Move To Close School For Blind
You don’t have to convince Linda Hau that the Wisconsin School for
the Visually Handi-capped in Janesville provides a valuable service to
boys and girls in Wisconsin.
Her blind and mentally handicapped son, Graham, has benefitted enormously
from his education at the school, which State Superinten-dent John Benson
wants to close.
In a recent letter to Benson, Hau said she was “shocked, saddened
and angered” by his plan.
“Graham has participated in music programs every year — often
as a soloist,” she wrote in a letter. “He has been on the wrestling
and track teams, in spite of significant physical limitations, and has
had the thrill of hearing his friends and classmates cheer him on. As
a high school student, he has attended prom with his girlfriend, gone
to pizza parties, skating events, 4-H meetings, dances, bowling, trips
to the mall and to Madison. I can assure you that, with the possible exception
of music, none of this would have occurred had he been placed in a local
public school. He has really had a wonderful ‘teenage existence’
in spite of his handicaps.”
As a public school teacher herself, Hau strongly disputes Benson’s
contention that visually handicapped students are better served in their
local school districts.
“I can say without hesitation that inclusion is the cruelest form
of isolation that exists for our handicapped children,” she said.
“Every day I see them — alone in the cafeteria, alone in the
hallways, either being totally ignored or laughed at by our ‘normal’
students. It is true that we have many wonderful, good, kind kids in our
high school, but peer pressure is almost always stronger than moral values
and common sense. These handicapped kids are ostracized from joining any
organization and never attend outside events at school.
“In order for them to participate in sports, they must be able to
compete at a level they are physically unable to attain. There is no playing
field for them. They have nothing that resembles a normal teenage life,
simply because they've been isolated from those who are like they are.”
Hau’s powerful arguments get to the crux of the debate over closing
the WSVH. Supporters of the school say Benson is ignoring the vital role
the school plays.
In addition to a broad academic curriculum, the WSVH provides many special
services and programs designed to help blind and visually impaired boys
and girls succeed outside the school. These include learning Braille,
and learning daily living skills such as grooming, clothes selection,
shopping, cooking, and catching a bus.
Students form close social relationships and are active in a variety
of extracurricular activities, including track, wrestling, swimming, cross-country,
cheerleading, forensics, band, and student council.
Yes, enrollment at the school has been declining (from more than 100
to less than 70), but the teachers say that is because Benson and DPI
have failed to market it to families with visually impaired children and
have encouraged families to send their children to local schools.
Benson has no authority to close the facility — only the Legislature
can do that. But supporters of the school say Benson already is denying
the school support and resources.
That has prompted a lawsuit by the Wisconsin Council for the Blind. The
suit, filed in Dane County Circuit Court, claims Benson has not fulfilled
his obligation to “maintain and govern the school.” There is
no evidence that the Legislature wants to close the school, which was
established in 1849. In fact, on June 29 the Legislature approved a citation
acknowledging the school's important role and stating that the Legislature
does “recognize and congratulate” the school “for its record
of service to the citizens of Wisconsin.” That citation is prominently
displayed in the school's main lobby.
“When students come here they are on an equal playing field with
other students, and that in itself helps them develop self-esteem and
confidence,” said Tom Hanson, a vocational education teacher.
“They don't have to come here if they don't want to,” added
social studies teacher Richard Johnson. “But they should have the
option to come here.”
Photo: Tom Hanson (left) and John Sonka, teachers at the Wisconsin
School for the Visually Handicapped in Janesville, display a recent citation
from the Legislature congratulating the school for its "record of
service." The school's teachers are joining with parents and many
other supporters of the school to fight a proposal by State Superintendent
John Benson to close the facility. - Photo by Bill Hurley
Posted October 15, 1997