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Curriculum
Arizona School for the Blind, Tucson Campus
CORE CURRICULUM
The ASB core curriculum addresses the academic areas of mathematics and language arts (reading and writing). The curriculum is based on the core curriculum of the Tucson Unified School District, the largest school district in the metropolitan area surrounding ASB. Click on TUSD for more information about TUSD's core curriculum. The core curriculum correlates with the competencies of the Arizona State Standards (including State Performance Objectives). Click on Arizona State Standards for more information. Click on AIMS for more information about the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards. The various levels of the standards - Functional, Readiness, Foundations, Essentials, Proficiency/Distiction - are included and subdivided by grades Kindergarten through High School. Also included are Adaptations (suggested interventions, materials, activities, teaching techniques and strategies), Personal Qualities (suggestions to build, character, self-esteem, responsibility, independence, motivation, problem solving and collaboration skills), the Six-Trait Writing Rubric, and recommendations for portfolio assessment. Textbooks and supplementary materials are carefully selected by the ASB Comprehensive Curriculum committee to implement these core areas. The ASDB Board of Directors approved the core curriculum in March, 2003.
For related information and additional resources about core curriculum from the Texas School for the Blind, click on Texas School for the Blind Core Curriculum.
EXPANDED CORE CURRICULUM (ECC)
The Expanded Core Curriculum for students who are visually impaired, or visually impaired and multiply disabled, is a set of eight skill areas which require direct instruction from specialists. These skills are not learned incidentally by students with visual impairments and therefore direct intervention is necessary. The areas of the expanded core curriculum include:
Compensatory Skills (braille, listening and communication skills, handwriting, abacus)
Orientation and Mobility
Social Skills
Independent Living Skills
Recreation and Leisure Skills
Career Education
Assistive Technology
Visual Efficiency
For related information and additional resources about the expanded core curriculum, click on Texas School for the Blind - Expanded Core Curriculum.
Compensatory Skills
Arizona statutes define the process for determining "blind pupils" who should be taught braille in order to read. Braille instruction is then determined on a case-by-case basis by the IEP team for each student. Sixty percent of ASB students received some level of braille instruction. Students who are determined to need braille receive assessment and formal instruction beginning in elementary school and continuing on into middle and high school.
Students learn uncontracted and contracted braille, as well as nemeth code. Instruction is provided by classroom teachers and a braille specialist based on individual assessments given at least annually. ASB staff use a variety of curricular materials to teach braille
including Mangold, Patterns, Braille Fundamentals, Braille Too, and many others. ASB students participate in the Braille Readers Are Leaders and the Braille Challenge contests. Mountbatten braillewriters, Braille 'n Speaks, and BrailleNotes are available for student use.
Listening and communication skills are taught by classroom teachers and speech and language specialists. Organizational and study skills are taught on an annual and ongoing basis. Handwriting is taught by elementary and middle school teachers, occupational therapists, and the Activities of Daily Living specialist. ASB uses the Handwriting Without Tears program. Abacus and calculator skills are taught directly by classroom teachers and
mathematics instructors. Several methods of abacus instruction are utilized depending on individual student needs.
Orientation and Mobility
Students with visual impairments need to learn about themselves and the environment in which they move - from basic body image to independent travel in rural and urban areas. Orientation and Mobility emphasizes the fundamental need and basic right of persons with a visual impairment to travel as independently as possible, and to understand, enjoy and access a variety of environmental settings to the greatest extent possible. ASB employs a cadre of teachers who have been specifically prepared to teach Orientation and Mobility to learners. The O&M specialists utilize a curriculum developed by the team as well as the
Teaching Age Appropriate Purposeful skills program (TAPS).
A range of service models for O&M are available depending on individual student needs. Some students receive concentrated O&M services over a short period of time. Other students receive an ongoing, pull-out model to concentrate on developing O&M skills over a longer period of time. Some O & M services are provided in a small-group setting. Still others participate in an infusion model which focuses on places and situations where students might
travel naturally as part of their daily routine.Orientation and Mobility Specialists also provide
consultation and assessment services.
Social Skills
Social skills are taught in isolation and infused throughout the program. Two types of assessments are conducted to determine individual needs and progress - the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) checklist and the Social Skills Rating Scale (SSRS). Social skills are often best addressed in context by staff working with students in given situations. Students also receive direct instruction in programs such as the Community-based Instruction (CBI) model used at ASB
Independent Living Skills
Students with visual impairments need opportunities to practice the skills necessary for independent living in a supported program. ASB has a rehabilitation teacher who focuses only on the activities of daily living for students. This ADL Specialist works directly with students and teachers to promote independence. Self-help skills, dressing, food preparation and eating, personal hygiene, clothing care, consumer skills, banking skills, handwriting/signature skills, and self advocacy are all taught. Classroom teachers also reinforce these areas. The TSBVI curricular materials and checklist are used. The ASDB Adult Preparation and Transition program (APT) and the Semi-Independent Living Program in the residence hall also assist students to develop independent living skills.
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