By The Star Staff
Education Secretary Eliezer Ramos Parés announced on Monday the first Blind Students Meeting, in which, like the recently held meeting for deaf students enrolled in the island’s public education system, students, their parents, guardians and teachers will have the opportunity to meet, integrate and exchange ideas and life experiences.
The event will be held on Wednesday, at Luis Muñoz Marín Park, starting at 9 a.m.
“Without a doubt, the meeting of deaf students was emotional and of great benefit to our children and young people and their families, and we want to replicate that with the population of blind students that we have in our schools,” Ramos Parés said in a written statement. “It is necessary to promote these support spaces so that they know each other and strengthen bonds of friendship that help them in their growth and formation. This is part of our commitment to giving visibility to this population and encouraging empathy on the part of all citizens.”
He added that there are currently 226 blind students participating in the Blind and Deafblind Service Program in the seven educational regions. The public school system has 52 teachers specializing in instruction for the blind.
Information tables will be set up in the park to guide the parents and relatives of the students. In addition, the National Federation of the Blind of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rican Federation of Blind Athletes and the Center for Independent Living will be present. Adaptive physical education teachers, meanwhile, have designed a series of games and events for attendees, the Education chief noted.
Interim Assistant Secretary of Special Education Jessica Díaz said copies of the Guide for the Provision of Services to Students with Visual Impairment will be available, “and we will have a committee of teachers specialized in the blind stationed there to screen students who are suspected of having a visual disability.”
“This will be coordinated with the service centers’ registration and eligibility determination staff,” she said.
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