Our Campus
Alabama School for the Blind is located in
Talladega, with a large, tree-shaded campus and buildings connected by
covered walkways. Alumni Hall faces South Street across a wide,
pleasant lawn. This building is home to the school library, Alabama
Instructional Resource Center for the Blind or AIRCB and the Subregional
Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. The school library
has hundreds of volumes of fiction and nonfiction books in Braille and
large print and subscribes to magazines of interest to readers up to age
eighteen. More resources are available to students at ASB and all
students with vision loss around the state through the Alabama
Instructional Resource Center for the Blind (AIRCB). Most residential
students have an hour-long study hall at the library at the end of the
school day.
The Wood Science Center is a unique facility
designed to help overcome the difficulties of learning about science and
math when vision is limited. A fully equipped chemistry lab,
interactive displays and a wide range of specialized teaching tools help
students with vision loss learn about our world and grasp scientific
and mathematical concepts in new and exciting ways. On the ground floor
of this building is the Sensory Safari, a remarkable collection of wild
and domesticated animals stuffed and displayed specifically for
hands-on access. Children with low or no vision can use their sense of
touch to learn about animals most children experience in a zoo or
through photographs or videos.
The main academic building is Oliver Hall; our
Helen Keller Fragrance Garden is adjacent to the cafeteria, and Landreth
Hall, our band and music facility, borders the garden on the other
side. Four dormitories bring a touch of home to the campus – one is
new, another was recently renovated and through AIDB’s Living with Pride
Campaign other renovations will follow. A new Independent Living
Center also brings new dimensions to residential life.
Brockman Hall houses shop and art classes and
Asbury Hall is the center of student activity with a gymnasium, snack
bar, swimming pool and an area for students to socialize after school.
And residential students make regular trips to the Hackney Play Therapy Center on the Helen Keller School campus, the Marianna Greene Henry Special Equestrians Arena for
horseback riding and hippotherapy or to area venues for shopping,
sporting and musical events or other recreational activities. Dances,
clubs and other activities fill up the afternoons, with one or two study
halls each day set aside for homework. Clubs and activities build
leadership skills and nurture the beginnings of lifelong friendships.
The Student Government Association, Scouting for girls and boys, Beta
Club, Mu Alpha Theta, Chess Club, Drama Club and more address just about
any interest a student might have.
Just down the street from the ASB campus is Hawkins Chapel,
an interdenominational chapel for students from all AIDB campuses. ASB
students can attend Sunday School classes and worship services and our
chaplain is available for counseling when students request it. Some
ASB students attend other churches in Talladega.
Even with all this activity, there is no
substitute for family. Every third weekend, AIDB's fleet of busses
leave Talladega to take students home for a long three-day weekend. The
bus trips home are free, just like tuition, room and board. Alabama
School for the Blind maintains close ties with the families of our
students, too, with calendars, reports and grades sent home regularly,
videoconferencing available from nine different regional centers around
the state, and easy access to teachers and staff through the telephone
and internet.
Independent Living
The goal of every good school is to help children
grow into happy, productive adults. After graduation, some ASB students
will return home and find jobs. Others might live at home and attend a
nearby college or university. But for some students life after school
means independence – and we want to help make that transition a
successful one. While instruction in home economics and related
subjects are taught during the school day, actual hands-on experience in
home and personal management is needed in a practical environment. A
new 5,500 square foot facility allows students access to develop these
crucial skills.
Semi-independent living quarters allow students
some flexibility, and an independent living apartment lets them stretch
their wings. Students in the independent living program have a little
less supervision and a lot more responsibility for taking care of
themselves - good practice for when they leave high school.