[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 22958]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE HADLEY SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND-

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARK STEVEN KIRK

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Saturday, September 27, 2008

  Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, today I am pleased to rise in support of a 
resolution I authored, H. Res. 875, honoring and supporting the Hadley 
School for the Blind.
  Dr. William A. Hadley, an Illinois high school teacher, lost his 
vision at age 55. With the loss of his sight Dr. Hadley believed that 
he would also lose his greatest joy--teaching. Although he taught 
himself Braille so he could continue to read, he was frustrated with 
the lack of educational opportunities for blind individuals.
  Dr. Hadley wanted to help others like him gain the skills and 
knowledge that could lead to independence. In 1920, Dr. Hadley and 
ophthalmologist Dr. E.V.L. Brown created the Hadley School for the 
Blind. Today, the Hadley School is the largest single educator of blind 
persons in the world, reaching 10,000 students annually in all 50 
states and in 100 different countries.
  The school began with teaching Braille with the innovative use of 
correspondence courses. While it is still known for its superior 
Braille curriculum, the school has expanded to offer a high school 
degree program and adult continuing education classes. In 2008, the 
School will expand again to include the Hadley School for Professional 
Studies for professionals who serve those who are blind and visually 
impaired.
  Students from the school have done extraordinary things. Former 
student Christine Gilson, a blind doctoral candidate and Fulbright 
scholar from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was the 
2007 recipient of the Hadley School for the Blind's President's Service 
Award for exceptional work in raising awareness of the needs and 
abilities of blind and visually impaired people. She bridged cultural 
boundaries by teaching visually impaired Chinese students English 
language classes online.
  The Hadley School for the Blind recently formed a partnership with 
Bookshare.org, an online community that lets people with print 
disabilities, such as blindness or low vision, scan books and exchange 
them legally through its website. The strategic partnership will extend 
the reach of both organizations and provide a broad range of learning 
and reading materials to people who are blind and visually impaired.
  I am proud to be the author of this resolution that supports an 
institution that has, for almost 90 years, provided a valuable 
education for thousands of visually impaired individuals.

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