1. Home
  2. About Irwin School Program You are here

About Irwin School Program

Who we are, what we believe, and how to reach us.

Profile

Washington State School for the Blind (WSSB) is a state agency providing a variety of services to blind and low vision individuals between the ages of birth through young adulthood. As a statewide hub for blind and low vision services for students, WSSB’s Irwin School programs act as the flagship program, serving students through a comprehensive 6th through 12th grade school, residential programs, summer programs, short courses, post-high secondary transition training, and distance learning. While visiting WSSB’s lush campus in Vancouver, students attending comprehensive programs can be observed traveling across campus, hanging out with friends, engaging in small class instruction, playing music in a band, cooking in the cottage, running around the track, or in career tech classes learning through hands-on activities. With the on-campus programs student population hovering close to seventy, it’s clear that WSSB is a close-knit community of learners, educators, leaders, and opportunities.

Attending WSSB is based on each student’s need to develop skills for future success towards greater independence. The next step for students may be the next grade level, high school, career/tech preparation program, college, or employment. The timeline for each student’s placement at WSSB depends on the priority of skills needing to be developed in order to prepare them for the next step on their pathway. Some students are enrolled at WSSB for one or two years, while some may remain enrolled longer. It is critical that WSSB provides a safe learning environment for challenging students to develop skills for independence, and support their journey as a life-long learner.

Philosophy and the Expanded Core Curriculum

Students attending WSSB’s on-campus programs make the decision to come to WSSB for reasons aligned well with the school’s purpose: “To empower blind and low vision individuals to reach their full potential.” In some respects, WSSB is a program of choice for blind and low vision students in Washington. With students traveling across the state, anywhere from thirty to three hundred miles away, students come to WSSB with a clear purpose of betterment in skills for school and life. One of the key aspects of the curriculum that WSSB focuses on is the “Expanded Core Curriculum,” a phrase coined by Dr. Phil Hatlen in 1996. The Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) includes nine key areas of instruction and development that require added consideration for instruction for blind and low vision students.

Given that the majority of the information presented in the world is visual and supports ongoing incidental learning, blind and low vision students may require instruction in areas of the ECC. Across WSSB’s campus, nearly all of our programs and services can be linked to the ECC. These areas include (in no particular order):

Sensory Efficiency: Use of all available senses to access learning and the environment, including sensory integration.

Self-Determination: Identifying interests, values, motivations, and developing confidence to make decisions in their own life.

Career Education: Developing career awareness, exploration, and skills to prepare students to enter the world of work.

Compensatory Skills: Skills that allow students to access their education curriculum through communication, braille or print media, tactile skills, organizational skills, or concept development.

Orientation and Mobility: Conceptual and skills development so that blind and low vision students can travel independently and safely within their environment.

Use of Access Technology: Leveraging technology and tools to support access to the environment, curriculum, and/or communication.

Social Interaction: Learning how to engage within social situations, including building and maintaining positive relationships.

Recreation and Leisure: Participation in physical activities and learning to plan for and incorporate social and leisure time in one’s schedule.

Independent Living: Taking care of oneself as independently as possible, including cooking, cleaning, money management, and a variety of other daily self-care routines.

Day and Residential Status

Students shall access the educational programs at the Washington State School for the Blind as a residential or day student. This status shall be designated at each student’s respective case conference (IEP meeting including placement meeting), involving the local education agency, the custodial parent or legal guardian (or student if student is of legal age), and staff and administration of the Washington State School for the Blind. It is the responsibility of the conference facilitator (usually a WSSB administrator) to ensure that the day or residential status and resultant transportation arrangements are clearly designated at the IEP meeting.

Day students: Maximum mileage or time from WSSB is 45 miles or one hour. Students outside of this range must be residential students. This may be dependent on available transportation services from ESD 112.

Residential students: Typically will be those students beyond the 45 miles or one-hour range. However, parents living within these ranges may request residential placement as part of the IEP program plan as part of the need for more intensive residential experiences.

Costs and Tuition

Tuition

WSSB provides Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to Washington residents. Non-residents of Washington may apply to attend WSSB and will be charged tuition. Out of state students are referred to WSSB through their local district IEP team.

Costs

All parents pay for medication, clothing, school supplies, spending money, personal hygiene items, additional snacks, graduation cap and gown, dress clothing for performances, and any emerging needs for their student.

Communication

Effective communication is a key ingredient in fostering positive relationships between students, parents/guardians, staff, and other individuals on a student’s educational team.

Current communication modes:

Irwin School website: www.irwin.wssb.wa.gov Agency website: www.wssb.wa.gov

 

Important: Please notify the office of any changes to your address or phone numbers. Having accurate information is essential, especially during emergencies.

 

Back to the Student Handbook