January Newsletter

In January we honor Louis Braille, the man who is responsible for Braille. Louis Braille was born on January 4, 1809 and now we celebrate this day as World Braille Day.

Why is braille literacy so important? Braille is a system made up of tactile dots that allows someone who is visually impaired or blind the ability to read. Just imagine the electricity going out in your house and you are not able to read, a person who knows Braille can read in the dark because they can use their fingers to feel the dots on the page. The use of Braille allows person with visual impairments to access written text just as a person without visual impairments. In other words, Braille provides equal access to the written word.

In Onslow County, the Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments provide systematic instruction in the use of reading and writing Braille to students with visual impairments who demonstrate significant difficulty with the use of their functional vision. Onslow County Schools is also one of the few counties in the state of North Carolina that has a Braillist on staff. A Braillist provides support to the instructional program with specific responsibilities for transcribing educational materials into alternative format (braille, large print, tape) for visually impaired students. Our Braillist is also one of the few in the state who is also a Department of Public Instruction designated Accessible Media Producer.

If you would like more information regarding Braille or the Visual Impairment Team here in Onslow County School you can email Camilla.gholson@onslow.k12.nc.us