SPRING 2014

FORMER OUTREACH STUDENT ADJUSTS TO CAMPUS LIFE

Ask Tajne Jefferies to name a favorite

class at The Maryland School for the

Blind and she might name U.S. History

or English. She might also mention

Health or Spanish. Most likely, she

would describe her favorite class

of all, Engineering and Technology,

where she builds bridges, robots and

water towers.

In fact, the sophomore who transferred

last fall from New Town High School

in Owings Mills, MD, has only positive

things to say about her new school.

“It’s a really good place to go if

you have just acquired your visual

impairment because you learn a lot

more than academics,” she said.

“You learn how to adapt to things

around you.”

Tajne’s enthusiasm is all the more

noteworthy because she initially

resisted the move to MSB, to which

she commutes for over an hour each

morning and afternoon.

“She did not want to go there. She

wanted to stay with her friends at her

public high school,” said Quandralyn

Wilson, Tajne’s mother. “She’d had

those friends since

elementary school.”

However, Quandralyn

and her daughter—as

well as her teachers—

realized she needed

more support. Tajne’s

vision loss began,

along with other

symptoms, when she was in the

seventh grade. She was hospitalized

several times during the next few

years and eventually diagnosed with

neuromyelitis optica, a central nervous

system disorder that affects the optic

nerves and spinal cord. Today, she

retains some of her peripheral vision.

Tajne attended the summer program

at MSB to ease her transition to fall

enrollment. “It was a camp for five

days a week,” said Tajne. “It was like

a regular school day. You would have

classes and then lunch. After the

classes you could do fun stuff. There

were ice cream socials and field

trips and swimming—we went to

the beach.”

An important part of the summer

outreach program was learning

adaptive living skills, such as the

orientation and mobility techniques

that help students with visual

impairments to navigate safely in

their home, school and community. In

addition, students were taught how to

distinguish different denominations of

paper money by using special folding

techniques and other useful skills.

“I have a Food Lion where I live. I

learned how to route my way to

the grocery store and read the

prices, either by asking for help or

taking special technology with me,”

Tajne said.

Tajne refills a campus

vending machine as part

of the Career Education

program at MSB

continued on page 3

M E S S A G E F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N T

Tajne’s zest for learning and Ruth Ann Hynson’s passion for making The

Maryland School for the Blind’s Statewide Services program available

all over Maryland has made this school an integral part of the statewide

educational fabric. The Maryland School for the Blind’s Statewide

Services program offers expertise and specialized skills to Maryland

students from ages 3-21. The school’s staff helps individual students

with visual impairments and multiple disabilities that are enrolled in

both public and private schools. 

These statewide services promote student success within local school

systems. The many services offered are diagnostic evaluations, which

are customized to the individual student’s needs. These can provide a

better understanding of a student’s functioning in order to design and

implement an effective educational program. MSB offers training on a

variety of issues related to visual impairment for students, families and

local school staff. We have student-specific consultations to provide

recommendations that can promote students’ instructional programs in

their local schools. We make available functional low vision evaluations

through MSB’s monthly clinics or through observation and assessment

of students in their local school/home settings, and referrals to the

statewide Instructional Resource Center (IRC), which provides services,

related to the provision of adapted instructional materials for visually

impaired students.

We hope that you will continue to let your friends and neighbors know

about The Maryland School for the Blind so that anyone who needs the

resources we provide will know where to turn.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Bina, Ed.D,

President

S P O T L I G H T: R U T H A N N H Y N S O N Director of Statewide Outreach Services

After 25 years at MSB,

most of it working in

the outreach program,

Ruth Ann Hynson

believes that it takes

a village to educate a

visually impaired child.

To serve as active participants in that village,

Ruth Ann and her staff travel the state to

help students, teachers and parents in their

schools and homes. When appropriate, they

suggest students come to MSB for short-

term programs.

“We have to be visible in the state to keep

MSB in everyone’s minds,” she said. “More

than 90% of the students who come to our

school have had some type of outreach.”

Outreach services include visiting schools

around the state and assessing the

educational needs of students with visual

impairment—some of whom have secondary

conditions affecting their success in the

classroom. Ruth Ann’s staff includes a low-

vision specialist who provides functional

vision assessments to help students and

teachers find solutions to specific issues,

such as problems seeing colors, contrast

or print size.

A social worker on the outreach staff assists

students who are struggling emotionally

with their vision impairment. She also leads

after-school groups onsite at MSB for

students with visual impairments from area

schools. In addition, a parent coordinator

conducts home visits to help parents with

children of all ages, including infants or

toddlers diagnosed with a vision condition.

“We also have a large summer school

program here at MSB as well as monthly

short course programs,” she said.

“I do not believe that one setting or the

other encompasses everything these

children need to learn in order to be as

productive as they can be,” Ruth Ann said.

That’s why, for the Outreach team, the state

is one big village.

Gary Mudd, Dr. Bina, Jenny and Devonte

visit Senator Barbara Mikulski on Capital Hill

The Maryland School for the Blind

held its 36th annual Beeping Easter

Egg Hunt on April 9 on the school’s

campus. You might be asking what is

a “beeping” egg hunt?

It is a variation of the traditional egg

hunt for children who are blind or

visually impaired. Students use their

sense of hearing to search for plastic

battery operated eggs that emit a

high pitched beeping noise similar to

a watch or alarm clock. Holes at the

bottom allow sound projection so

students with little or no vision can

easily hear the sound, find the hidden

eggs and add them to their baskets.

At the end of the hunt, the students

trade in the beeping eggs for books,

toys and treats distributed by staff

members and volunteers.

To round out the fun, there is always

a special appearance by the Easter

Bunny, the Crayola © Bunny and

Snuggle Bear, who provide photo ops

for the students. Diakon Kathryn’s

Closet, a unique program that

partners corporations with non-

profit organizations, is an annual

sponsor of the event and provides gift

baskets and prizes for the students.

Volunteers from the Telephone

Pioneers, who have been a key

partner since the event’s inception,

provide the sound activated eggs.

The beeping egg hunt has become a

favorite tradition at MSB since 1978!

Left: Tajne learning job

skills in Career Education

Below: Tajne and Ms. Hynson

discuss MSB programs

MAKE SOME NOISE!

The summer program also included

an introduction to reading braille. “It’s

actually really fun. It’s like learning

a whole new code,” said Tajne, who

plans to pursue a career as either a

Spanish translator or a recreational

therapist.

“We wanted her to be comfortable

there so it would be an easier

transition when school started,

and that is what happened,” said

Quandralyn, who noted that her

daughter’s straight-A average has not

dipped since her illness began.

“MSB has been great to us. Everything

they can do to help they will—with a

lot of communication,” she said. “It’s

the key to everything.”

Sydney makes a new friend

at the beeping egg hunt.

Tajne and the

MSB cheerleaders show

their spirit.

continued from cover

SPRING 2014 Calendar of EventsApr 26 “Swirl for a Girl” Gala, 7-11 pm @ Knefely Activity Ctr.

Apr 30 Track and Field Meet, 1 pm @ Schroeder Track

May 6-8 Musical Production “Meet Me in St. Louis”,

7 pm @Jen C. Russo Arts Center

May 15 Senior Class Awards & Pre-Prom, 4 pm

@ Jen C. Russo Arts Center

June 2 Graduation, 6:30 pm @Knefely Activity Center

C O M M U N I T Y S U P P O R TMSB wishes to thank the following foundations, corporations and clubs/organizations for their recent support:

American Legion Caroline Post #29

American Legion Dorchester Post No. 91

BDO USA, LLP.

Casper G. Sippel, Inc.

Charitable Marine Society

Cloverland Farms Dairy Foundation

CSX Transportation, Inc. Charitable Committee

Eastern Savings Bank

Edward St. John Foundation, Inc.

Employee Charity Organization (ECHO) Of Northrup

Grumman

Ens. C. Markland Kelly, Jr. Mem. Foundation, Inc.

FIRST™

Friends of the Maryland State Library for the B&PH, Inc.

I C You Foundation, Inc.

J. Willard & Alice S. Marriott Foundation

Knights of Columbus Councils #205, #2521, #6021

Legg Mason

Maryland State Council Knights of Columbus

McCracken Consulting, LLC

Ravens Roost #82

Rosedale Federal Savings and Loan Association

T. Rowe Price Foundation, Inc.

The Campbell Foundation, Inc.

The David & Barbara B. Hirschhorn Foundation

The Huether-McClelland Foundation, Inc.

The Marksmen Company

The Schluderberg Foundation, Inc.

Walmart Foundation

Support MSB Through the United Way Campaign#3051 Combined Federal Campaign, UW of Central Maryland and Combined Charity Campaign for Baltimore City

#58365 CFC Chesapeake Bay Area and National Capital Area

First Vice District Governor Doug Dewitt of Lions Club

22A presented MSB student Shaniya Harcum with an

award for the International Lions Club Peace Poster and

Essay Contest.

Thank you to the Deep Creek

Lions Club for sponsoring the

Blind Skier Program for MSB

students at WISP resort. This

annual program pairs students

from Garrett County high

schools who serve as ski guides

to blind and visually impaired

students from MSB.

FOLLOW MSB ON FACEBOOK AT THE

MARYLAND SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND

AND ON TWITTER @MSB1853