This brief history of the School was written by Tom Hanson, who draws on his
own research and that of earlier authors.
HISTORY OF WSVH
In the 1820s, a movement was underway to provide education and training to
blind children. The movement began in Boston and New York and moved
westward as territories became states in the Union. In 1849, in
Janesville, Wisconsin, a group of about 30 citizens met to discuss a school for
the blind. At this meeting, Mr. J.T. Axtell discussed and demonstrated
techniques required for educating the blind. The group, headed by Mr.
Hyatt Smith, collected $430 and a private school was started. The first
class consisted of eight students. Subjects offered included arithmetic,
reading, writing, spelling, philosophy, geography, knitting, and broom- and
brush-making. Captain Miltimore, one of the six trustees, offered his home
for the site of the school, and this building still stands at 802 Center Avenue
in Janesville. In February of 1850, some of these students went to Madison
to demonstrate their skills and abilities to the State Legislature. The
legislators were duly impressed and on February 9, 1850, created the first
State-supported educational institution in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin
Institute for the Education of the Blind.
Due to continual growth, a new location was needed. Again, Captain
Miltimore assisted by donating ten acres of land by the Rock River to the state
for the purpose of building a new school. In 1852, the school was
relocated to the new site, which is still the same location for the school today.
The original building was built facing the river, as was often done at that time
when rivers were a more reliable transportation network than roads. Over
the next decade construction was ongoing as well as the development of the
curriculum. During this period, enrollment grew to 58 students.
In 1854, the State appointed the first superintendent, Mr. C. B. Woodruff.
Since this initial appointment, there have been 33 superintendents, with the
last one being Dr. Tom Hanson, from 1998-2001. The title "Superintendent"
is no longer used. Administration of WSVH begins with the State School
Administrator, who oversees both the Wisconsin School for the Deaf and WSVH,
through the Director of the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
and the Education Director.
In 1874, there was a major fire at the school (this was the third major fire
at a residential school throughout the nation.) This fire caused one
death, Henry Nelson, and was the contributing cause to the death of
Superintendent Tom Little in 1875. Many community organizations came to
the aid of the school and its "inmates" (students) and the Legislature allocated
$174,000 to rebuild the school.
In 1868, Braille was introduced as a subject. In 1871, New York Points,
another dot-reading system, was incorporated into the curriculum. Both of
these dot systems remained as part of the curriculum until the 1930s when
Braille became the official reading system for blind persons in the United
States.
In 1885, the name of the school was changed to the Wisconsin School for the
Blind. This name remained until 1945, when it became the Wisconsin School
for the Visually Handicapped, which is its name today. 1885 was also the
first year for which records list the graduates from the school. One of
the two 1885 graduates, M.A. McGalloway, later donated the grandfather clock
which stands in the lobby today. In 1897, the Alumni Association of the
Wisconsin School for the Blind (now the AAWSVH) was organized.
In the later 1800s and early 1900s, enrollment continued to grow and the
curriculum to be refined. In 1918, a new program was established at the
school, an adult summer program. The primary focus of the initial summer
program for adults was that of male World War I veterans who suffered vision
loss. The eight-week program offered training to enable these veterans to
regain independence. In 1923, the program was opened to women. In
1937, the school was moved from the State's welfare department to the Department
of Public Instruction, where it remains today.
Co-curricular activities have always been an integral part of the school.
In 1863 and 1864, the school presented a musical concert in the community to
help support the war efforts. These activities continued throughout the
years. In the mid-1920s, the school received gold cups for their choral
and orchestral presentations. Today the music program continues to thrive
with individual lessons, group instruction, various bands, and senior recitals,
and several annual concerts. In the 1940s, athletics gained a greater role
at the school. The first athletic event that the school participated in
was a national telegraphic track meet in 1909 and 1910. Results for each
participant from schools around the country were telegraphed in. New
Mexico took the title each year.
In the 1940s, WSVH had a basketball team and played a limited schedule.
It appears the competition was primarily the School for the Deaf and some
community teams. In the late 1940s, Mr. Ted Albrecht, a teacher at the
school, started a wrestling program for the blind. The school's team
competed against other public schools including the State champions of each
year. In 1950, Mr. Albrecht took a team and competed in a tournament of
schools for the blind. The first WSVH wrestler to compete at State
sectionals was Jerry Meysembourg in 1964. In 1981, Jack Gibbs became the
only WSVH wrestler to compete in the State tournament. WSVH became a
member of the North Central Association of schools for the Blind (now the North
Central Association of Schools for the Visually Handicapped) in the 1950s and
continues with this affiliation today. The 1973 wrestling team coached by
Paul Jentz was the only team to win the conference title. In 1960, WSVH
started a track and field team and participated in the NCASVH.
In 1967, cheerleading became a competitive activity in the NSACVH and the
Title IX had a significant impact in the 1970s. A girls' track team was
formed, which competed in the NCASVH conference. Also, two new teams were
established for both boys and girls: cross-country and swimming.
WSVH had the first girls' cross-country team in the city of Janesville. In
1975, swimming became a sport for the blind, and Wisconsin dominated the
conference for the next two decades. The swim and cross-country programs
were developed and coached by John Sonka. Other co-curricular activities
that were added included forensics in the 1970s for both boys and girls, and
goal ball, which is not a conference sport, but is gaining interest, in 2001.
In 1967, Ken Tapp was hired as the first orientation and mobility teacher at
the school. This was the start of recognizing travel training as a
component on a formal basis in the curriculum.
In the mid-1970s, the enactment of special education laws which required
individual education plans (IEPs) and provided educational services at the local
level (PL 94-142) required that referrals to WSVH had to be made by the local
school district. This legislation impacted the school in terms of
enrollments, which began a decline, and increased the collaboration with local
educational agencies to provide quality services in either the local district or
at WSVH.
In 1962, children's summer programming was initiated with a vocational
program in piano repair, but lasted only two years. In the 1970s,
children's summer school was again attempted, focusing on college preparatory
skills. This lasted about seven years. In the late 1990s, the
current children's summer program was re-established. This summer program
focuses on vision skills not available in local school districts, including
orientation and mobility, Braille, technology, and daily living skills.
Attempts have been made in the past to close WSVH. In1950, a proposal
was made to close the school, but was soon dropped. In 1997, the DPI State
Superintendent proposed that WSVH be closed. Following legislative
hearings and testimony by alumni, staff, and visually impaired persons, the
Legislature decided to retain WSVH, and also created the Wisconsin Center for
the Blind and Visually Impaired. The Center's goal is to provide education
services to blind and visually impaired children throughout Wisconsin. By
working with the local school districts to offer technical assistance, staff
development, and Braille and large print materials production, WCBVI serves as a
clearing house and resource for visually impaired children, their families, and
their schools throughout Wisconsin. WSVH remains an important part of
these resources, providing residential school services and summer school
programming.
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