feature.
braille master Freshman Brooke Petro adjusts to life at Sion a little differently as she reads all her schoolwork in braille and experiences the school uniquely due to her visual impairment. BY SOFIA AGUAYO PRINT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
O
n the phone with her Teacher for the Visually Impaired (TVI), freshman Brooke Petro types her math answers into her braille writer in her own private study room adjoined to the music room, affectionately known as “the braille room.” Petro is a master braille reader and writer, as she is a blind student. She began learning at the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired at a very young age, and started working with her TVI in first grade. Learning was not only a different experience for Petro, it was also a learning process for her mom, Lyn Petro, and the rest of her family. “The biggest thing that I had to learn when Brooke started school was patience,” Lyn said. “Sometimes it’s patience in waiting to see how things might be adapted for Brooke, sometimes it’s waiting to see if books or tests are already available in Braille, sometimes it’s waiting for answers from teachers or administration and sometimes it’s hoping that Braille supplies and materials will arrive in time for Brooke to use them. There are a lot of prayers for patience in our house.” Petro learned how to read braille at the same age other children learn how to read print. Braille is not its own language; rather, it is a code made up of dot combinations punched into thick paper to create a texture for feeling words instead of seeing them. Braille takes up a lot more space than print- about three times more, so you can imagine how much more binder and notebook space is necessary. “I’m usually in class most of the time and I do most of my work on my computer just because it’s easier and I can send that in to teachers,” Petro said. “I usually send my work in emails just because, unfortunately, Google Docs doesn’t work very well with my screen readers.” Additionally, Petro learned a special type of braille that is used for math and science notations called Nemeth Code. Although she is in math teacher Reynold Middleton’s Algebra I Honors class, she communicates on the phone with her TVI in the braille room, where the lesson is explained via audio and Nemeth Code. Petro’s TVI has been with her since first grade and is named Jill Bamber. Bamber was a special education teacher and reading specialist in middle schools when one of her twins suffered a stroke that left him with a visual impairment. She then decided to become a braille teacher to help him and other visually impaired students succeed in school. Already having a minor in math from her undergraduate degree, Bamber was drawn to this area of braille instruction and helps Petro with her math every day. “When I was working in special education, I spent half of my day in math and the other half in reading,” Bamber said. “Brooke presented a challenge to me as she was always exceptional at math and I have always been sure to stay a half-step in front of her.”
20 // LeJournal
Although being blind presents Petro with some challenges, it also opens up unique opportunities, such as the Braille Challenge, a competition designed to motivate visually impaired students to practice and master their braille literacy skills. There are five age group categories consisting of first through twelfth grade, and only the top ten students from each age group make it to the finals at the Braille Institute in Los Angeles, California. Petro made it to the finals seven out of the eight times she participated, although this past summer it was held virtually. “Brooke told me on the ride home from a practice test in Kindergarten that she was not only going to place first in Kansas the next year, but that she was going to go to Nationals also,” Lyn said. “She accomplished that goal and won second place in her age category and had the top score in the Reading Comprehension portion of the test for all participants 1st-12th grade.” Since reading braille isn’t as common as reading print, Petro orders her textbooks from certain distributors. According to Lyn, there is a national database for Braille textbooks coordinated by the American Printing House for the Blind. She contacts the Kansas Instructional Resource Center to see if Petro can borrow a book that is already printed in braille. There are also libraries for the blind where Petro can borrow braille novels. If she needs something that these resources don’t have, Lyn asks a braille publishing company to transcribe the material for her. A prisonbased organization called the Michigan Braille Transcribing Fund transcribes all of Petro’s math materials each year. “If I would have been told that I would rely on a group of incarcerated individuals to make sure that my daughter could make it through school, I would not have believed it, but that is the case,” Lyn said. “We are forever thankful for the gentlemen that do that work.” Petro and her parents were tasked with the decision of which high school would be the best fit for her earlier than other students and their parents, because of the different requirements that needed to be taken into consideration. When beginning to look into what high school would be the best fit for her, Petro knew from the first time she visited in seventh grade that she wanted to attend Sion. This decision was based on many factors including the smaller buildings and campus which make it easier to get around, the small number of students and also the willingness of the teachers and administration to learn to work with her and meet her needs. Petro came with Bamber over the summer to walk through her schedule and learn her way around the school. “Everyone was really nice and willing to do what needed to be done and send all this stuff to my mom,” Petro said. “All the teachers were super nice and helpful, so I think that was a lot of my decision.”
