Meeting held to discuss plans for new facilities coming to Arkansas Schools for the Blind & Visually Impaired, Deaf

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A meeting was held Tuesday night to discuss plans for much-needed changes coming to the Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the School for the Deaf.

For the students at both schools, it’s more than just a school. It is also their home, and that home has been rundown and needs help.

“The problem was we had buildings that were built in the late 1800s and they were just not usable anymore for students,” Board of Trustees chairperson Robert Fagan said.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, the community and board members from both schools heard more updates about how the architects plan to combine them into one state-of-the-art facility.

“We were able to save money by merging the two schools together,” Fagan said. “So, with the new facility, there will be a wing for the deaf, a wing for the blind.”

Part of the merger also means hiring one superintendent. Nicole Walsh started on July 1st, and as the schools enter day two of classes, she says hearing from parents and students is her goal. This is why she loves the architect team; they gathered feedback from those stakeholders.

“They have given us candid feedback and thoughts about what’s been going right, what’s been going wrong, what they need to make changes to, and what we’re looking forward in the future,” Walsh said.

In October of last year, Sen. Clarke Tucker and many other legislators visited the Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the School for the Deaf. Tucker posted a thread on X saying he had mixed emotions and was astounded at some of the conditions.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and other officials then stepped in to help, as some of the buildings were deemed “unfit” for students and living.

According to Sanders, the legislature set aside $30 million in 2021 for the project to improve the schools.

SCM Architects spoke with 14 groups across both deaf and blind communities, performed 23 different exercises, and included 250 people in their research for their plan.

They found some themes, like CTE Education, statewide service parent training, language development, early acquisition, co-location consolidation-connection and supports, extracurricular activities, classrooms, safety & security, beauty & aesthetics and recreation, among several others.

They also determined some major goals: Educating the whole child, bridging the gap between deaf and blind communities on campus, providing resources for the most vulnerable students, hands-on learning and empowerment.

With this information, the architects say they can better plan to provide a state-of-the-art facility for the two communities that suit them best.

Overall, the board and the new superintendent said they are excited about the upcoming changes.

“It’s been so inspiring,” Walsh said. “Everyone has been absolutely engaged in this project as a whole.”

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