Missouri School for the Blind

Public school in the United States

Missouri School for the Blind

Missouri School for the Blind sign

Location

3815 Magnolia Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri, 63110

United States

Coordinates| 38°36′30″N 90°14′42″W﻿ / ﻿38.60821°N 90.24489°W﻿ / 38.60821; -90.24489
Information
Type| Public
Established| 1851; 173 years ago (1851)
Superintendent| Geoffrey Barney[1]
Grades| K–12
Enrollment| 67
Website| http://msb.dese.mo.gov/

The Missouri School for the Blind (MSB, Braille: ⠍⠊⠎⠎⠕⠥⠗⠊ ⠎⠉⠓⠕⠕⠇ ⠋⠕⠗ ⠞⠓⠑ ⠃⠇⠊⠝⠙) is a school for the blind and visually impaired in St. Louis, Missouri, operated by the State of Missouri. It has served the state of Missouri from the Greater St. Louis area for more than 150 years as a governmental agency of the state of Missouri. In 1860, the Missouri School became the first educational institution in the nation to adopt the braille system. It also owned, developed and operated one of the nation's earliest braille printing presses.

## History

[edit]

The Missouri School for the Blind is a state-operated agency in St. Louis, Missouri, serving children from kindergarten through twelfth grade.[2] The school opened under the formal name "Missouri Institution for the Education of the Blind" in 1851.[3] It was organized as a private charitable enterprise by Eli William Whelan, a blind teacher who had previously been the superintendent of the Tennessee Institution for the Blind. The Missouri General Assembly placed the school under state control in 1855,[3] and it was given its present name by legislative decree in 1879.[4]

Among the alumni of the Missouri School are the blind musicians Nat Brown, John William Boone (1864–1927)[5] and Louis Hardin, aka "Moondog" (1916–1999).[6]

### Modern era

[edit]

As of 2011, the school has an enrollment of sixty-seven students served by nineteen teachers, forming a student/teacher ratio of 3.5.[2] Modern classrooms are augmented with technologically advanced tools including BrailleNotes and other computers with refreshable Braille displays and text-to-speech functions.[7] The physical location of the school has changed numerous times since it was founded,[8] but it has never closed. It remains in the city of St. Louis, fully operated by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).[1]

## Campus

[edit]

The school maintains boarding facilities.[9]

## Adoption of braille

[edit]

The braille system of writing had been slow to develop in the United States, but was introduced at the Missouri School in the late 1850s by a member of its board of directors, Dr. Simon Pollak. He had witnessed the promise of the braille system while he was in Europe, but the Missouri School's director, Dr. John T. Sibley, opposed the system because it could not be readily appreciated by sighted teachers. Eventually, however, the students themselves took up Pollak's cause and found an enthusiastic spokesman in the school's music department chairman, Henry Robyn. With him, the students finally overcame the administration's opposition and braille was officially adopted for use at the school in 1860.[10][11]

Two years later, the school was able to report that "great advantage has been derived from the use of the system of point writing known as Braille." It further noted that "in music its excellency is especially manifest."[10] In a meeting of the Board of Trustees on 30 June 1863, singular praise was bestowed upon the music teacher Robyn: "This Institution is the pioneer of the Braille system in this country, and Mr. Robyn certainly deserves the honorable title of benefactor of the blind."[10]

The Missouri School was the first educational institution in the United States to recognize braille as the primary system for blind persons' instruction.[8][10] The braille system had been popularized throughout Europe since soon after Louis Braille's death in 1852, but did not find widespread approval in America until much later. Despite the Missouri School's endorsement, the rest of the country's schools would take until 1916 before officially adopting braille.[12]

### Early braille printing press

[edit]

The teacher Henry Robyn supplied the school with his own custom-made braille printing press. The press functioned by means of metal slugs bearing braille dots in relief: the slugs were hand-placed in a flat frame, over which soft rollers were run to emboss the dots onto paper. The press first went to work in 1865 with Robyn personally handling its operation.[13]

Although more than one claim has been made regarding the title of "first braille printing press in the United States," some authorities have clearly awarded that title to the Missouri School. Harvard professor Gabriel Farrell states definitively, "The first real printing press for the blind in the United States was invented and operated by Henry Robyn, head of the music department at the Missouri School for the Blind, in 1865."[13]

## See also

[edit]

* Blindness and education

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Missouri School for the Blind (2014). "MSB Welcomes New Superintendent" (PDF). Msb.dese.mo.gov. Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 9, 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
2. ^ a b Wolfram Alpha (2011). "Missouri School for the Blind". Wolframalpha.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
3. ^ a b Missouri School For the Blind (2011). "MSB History: Earliest Days". Msb.dese.mo.gov. Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Archived from the original on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
4. ^ Missouri; Thomas. H. Parrish; Benjamin F. McDaniel; Daniel Harrison McIntyre (1879). The revised statutes of the state of Missouri, 1879. Carter & Regan, state printers and binders. p. 1149. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
5. ^ Harrah, Madge (2004). Blind Boone: Piano Prodigy. Minneapolis: Lerner Publ. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-57505-057-7. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
6. ^ Hyde, Gene (2000). "Iconoclastic New York musician Moondog had Arkansas roots". Radford.edu/~wehyde/. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
7. ^ Missouri School for the Blind (2012). "MSB News & Updates". Msb.dese.mo.gov. Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
8. ^ a b Montesi, p. 117.
9. ^ "Residential Life". Missouri School for the Blind. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
10. ^ a b c d Farrell, p. 110.
11. ^ Perkins Museum (2011). "Reading and Writing". Perkins.pvt.k12.ma.us. Perkins School for the Blind. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
12. ^ Reynolds, Cecil R.; Fletcher-Janzen, Elaine (2007). Encyclopedia of Special Education: A-D. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-67798-7.
13. ^ a b Farrell, p. 125.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Farrell, Gabriel (1956). The Story of Blindness. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674839403. OCLC 263655.
* Montesi, Albert; Deposki, Richard (2004). St. Louis Garden District. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-3259-2.

* v
* t
* e

Education in St. Louis

This only includes institutions in the city limits of St. Louis. The only school district in the St. Louis city limits is SLPS (text list).
Note multiple places with "St. Louis, MO" postal addresses are not in the St. Louis city limits.
Places in St. Louis County (which are not in St. Louis City) with "St. Louis, MO" postal addresses are at Template:Education in St. Louis County, Missouri.

K-12

St. Louis
Public Schools|

* Carnahan HS o/t Future
* Central Visual and Performing Arts High School
* Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience
* Metro Academic & Classical HS
* McKinley Classical Leadership Acad
* Clyde C. Miller Career Acad
* Northwest Academy of Law
* Nottingham Community Access & Job Training Sch
* Roosevelt HS
* Soldan Int'l Studies HS
* Charles H. Sumner HS
* Vashon HS

| Closed|

* Beaumont HS

|

Charter|

* Hawthorn Leadership School for Girls

State-operated|

* Missouri School for the Blind

Private|

* Bishop DuBourg HS
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| Closed|

* St. Elizabeth Acad

|

Tertiary institutions

Four-year|

* Harris–Stowe State University
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* template
* Washington University in St. Louis North Campus, Medical Campus

Community
college|

* St. Louis Community College
* Forest Park

Libraries

Public|

* St. Louis Public Library

This list may be incomplete
St. Louis Japanese School would be the Japanese weekend school for Japanese nationals in St. Louis City

* v
* t
* e

High schools in Greater St. Louis

Missouri public
high schools|

* Affton
* Bayless
* Beaumont
* Brentwood
* Carnahan
* Central VPA
* Clayton
* Cleveland
* Cylde C. Miller
* Collegiate
* Crystal City
* Eureka
* Farmington
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* Fort Zumwalt North
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* Fox
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* Hillsboro
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* McCluer North
* STEAM Acad. @ McCluer South-Berkeley
* McKinley
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* Sch f/t Blind
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* Seckman
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* Troy Buchanan
* Union
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* Vashon
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* Washington
* Webster Groves
* Windsor
* Wright City

Illinois public
high schools|

* Alton
* Belleville East
* Belleville West
* Brussels
* Bunker Hill
* Cahokia
* Calhoun
* Carlinville
* Carlyle
* Central
* Civic Memorial
* Collinsville
* Columbia
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* East Alton-Wood River
* East St. Louis
* Edwardsville
* Freeburg
* Gillespie
* Granite City
* Greenville
* Highland
* Jersey
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* Marissa
* Mascoutah
* Mount Olive
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* New Athens
* North Mac
* O'Fallon
* Roxana
* Southwestern
* Staunton
* Triad
* Waterloo
* Valmeyer
* Wesclin

Catholic Archdiocesan
high schools|

* Althoff
* Bishop DuBourg
* Cardinal Ritter
* Duchesne
* Gilbault
* Mater Dei
* Rosati-Kain
* St. Dominic
* St. Francis Borgia
* St. Mary's
* St. Pius X

| Closed|

* John F. Kennedy
* Trinity

|

Catholic private
high schools|

* Barat Academy
* Chaminade
* Christian Brothers
* Cor Jesu
* De Smet
* Incarnate Word
* Marquette Catholic
* Nerinx Hall
* Notre Dame
* St. John Vianney
* St. Joseph's
* Priory
* St. Louis University High
* Ursuline
* Villa Duchesne
* Visitation

| Closed|

* St. Elizabeth

|

Other private
high schools|

* Christian
* Crossroads
* GreenPark Christian Academy
* John Burroughs School
* Logos
* Lutheran North
* Lutheran South
* Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School
* Meramec Valley Christian School
* The Principia
* Thomas Jefferson School
* Tower Grove Christian Academy
* Twin City Christian Academy
* Whitfield School
* Westminster Christian Academy

* v
* t
* e

Schools for the blind in the United States

Public|

| Statewide|

* AL Inst f/t Deaf and Blind
* AZ State Schs f/t Deaf & Blind
* AR Sch f/t Blind & Visually Imp
* CA Sch f/t Blind
* CO Sch f/t Deaf & Blind
* FL Sch f/t Deaf & Blind
* GA Acad f/t Blind
* HI Sch f/t Deaf & the Blind
* ID Sch f/t Deaf and the Blind
* IL Sch f/t Visually Imp
* IN Sch f/t Blind & Vis Imp
* KS St Sch f/t Blind
* KY Sch f/t Blind
* LA Sch f/t Visually Imp
* MN St Acad f/t Blind
* MO Sch f/t Blind
* MS Sch f/t Blind
* MT Sch f/t Deaf & Blind
* Gov Morehead Sch (NC)
* ND Vision Services/Sch f/t Blind
* NE Ctr f/t Ed of Children who are Blind or Vis Imp
* NM Sch f/t Blind & Vis Imp
* NY St Sch f/t Blind
* OH St Sch f/t Blind
* OK Sch f/t Blind
* SC Sch f/t Deaf & the Blind
* SD Sch f/t Blind & Visually Imp
* TN Sch f/t Blind
* TX Sch f/t Blind & Visually Imp
* UT Schs f/t Deaf & the Blind
* VA Sch f/t Deaf & Blind
* WA St Sch f/t Blind
* WI Sch f/t Blind & Visually Imp
* WV Schs f/t Deaf & the Blind

| Closed|

* IA Braille & Sight Saving Sch
* MI Sch f/t Blind
* OR Sch f/t Blind
* TX Blind, Deaf, & Orphan Sch
* VA Sch f/t Deaf, Blind, & Multi-Disabled

|

Private|

* Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired
* Lavelle School for the Blind
* Maryland School for the Blind
* New York Institute for Special Education
* Overbrook School for the Blind

See also: Council of Schools for the Blind

* v
* t
* e

Public boarding schools in the United States

Schools for
blind & deaf|

* AL Inst f/t Deaf & Blind
* AZ State Schs f/t Deaf & Blind
* AR Sch f/t Blind & Visually Imp
* AR Sch f/t Deaf
* CA Sch f/t Blind
* CA Sch f/t Deaf, Fremont
* CA Sch f/t Deaf, Riverside
* CO Sch f/t Deaf & Blind
* DE Sch f/t Deaf
* FL Sch f/t Deaf & Blind
* GA Acad f/t Blind
* GA Sch f/t Deaf
* HI Sch f/t Deaf and the Blind
* ID Sch f/t Deaf and the Blind
* IL Sch f/t Deaf
* IL Sch f/t Visually Imp
* IN Sch f/t Blind & Vis Imp
* IN Sch f/t Deaf
* IA Sch f/t Deaf
* KS Sch f/t Deaf
* KS St Sch f/t Blind
* KY Sch f/t Blind
* KY Sch f/t Deaf
* LA Sch f/t Deaf
* LA Sch f/t Visually Imp
* MD Sch f/t Deaf
* MI Sch f/t Deaf
* MN St Acad f/t Blind
* MN St Acad f/t Deaf
* MO Sch f/t Blind
* MO Sch f/t Deaf
* MS Sch f/t Blind
* MS Sch f/t Deaf
* MT Sch f/t Deaf & Blind
* NC Sch f/t Deaf
* E NC Sch f/t Deaf
* Gov Morehead Sch (NC) f/t Blind
* ND Sch f/t Deaf
* ND Vision Services/Sch f/t Blind
* NE Ctr f/t Ed of Children who are Blind or Vis Imp
* Katzenbach (NJ) Sch f/t Deaf
* NM Sch f/t Blind & Vis Imp
* NM Sch f/t Deaf
* NY St Sch f/t Blind
* NY St Sch f/t Deaf
* OH St Sch f/t Blind
* OH Sch f/t Deaf
* OK Sch f/t Blind
* OK Sch f/t Deaf
* OR Sch f/t Deaf
* SC Sch f/t Deaf & the Blind
* SD Sch f/t Blind & Visually Imp
* TN Sch f/t Blind
* TN Sch f/t Deaf
* W TN Sch f/t Deaf
* TX Sch f/t Blind & Visually Imp
* TX Sch f/t Deaf
* UT Schs f/t Deaf & the Blind
* VA Sch f/t Deaf & Blind
* WA St Sch f/t Blind
* WA Sch f/t Deaf
* WI Sch f/t Blind & Visually Imp
* WI Sch f/t Deaf
* WV Schs f/t Deaf & the Blind

| Closed|

* IA Braille & Sight Saving Sch
* MI Sch f/t Blind
* Ctrl NC Sch f/t Deaf K-8
* NE Sch f/t Deaf
* OR Sch f/t Blind
* Scranton State Sch f/t Deaf (PA)
* SD Sch f/t Deaf (dorms closed in 2005, later closed entirely)
* TX Blind, Deaf & Orphan Sch
* VA Sch f/t Deaf, Blind, & Multi-Disabled
* WY Sch f/t Deaf

|

Dorms closed|

* Gov Baxter Sch f/t Deaf (ME)
* RI Sch f/t Deaf

Schools for
gifted &
talented|

* AL Sch of Fine Arts
* AL Sch of Math & Sci
* AR Sch for Math, Sci & Arts
* IL Math & Sci Acad
* IN Acad for Sci, Math & Humanities
* KS Acad of Math & Sci
* Craft Acad for Exc in Sci & Math (KY)
* Carol Martin Gatton Acad of Math & Sci in KY
* LA Sch for Math, Sci, & Arts
* ME Sch of Sci & Math
* MS Sch of the Arts
* MS Sch for Math & Sci
* MO Acad of Sci, Math & Comp
* NC Sch of Sci & Math
* U. of NC Sch of the Arts
* NM Sch f/t Arts
* OK Sch of Sci & Math
* SC Gov's Sch for the Arts & Humanities
* SC Gov's Sch for Sci & Math
* TX Acad of Leadership in the Humanities
* TX Acad of Math & Sci

Tribal/
Bureau of
Indian Education|

* Chemawa Indian (OR)
* Cheyenne-Eagle Butte (SD)
* Choctaw Tribal School System (MS)
* Circle of Nations (ND)
* Crow Creek Tribal (SD)
* Flandreau Indian (SD)
* Greyhills Academy HS (AZ)
* Hunters Point Boarding (AZ)
* Jones Acad (OK)
* Kaibeto Boarding (AZ)
* Lummi Nation (WA)
* Many Farms Community (former Chinle Boarding) (AZ)
* Many Farms HS (AZ)
* Marty Indian (SD)
* Navajo Prep (NM)
* Pierre Indian Learning Center (SD)
* Pine Hill Schs (Ramah Navajo) (NM)
* Pine Ridge School (SD)
* Riverside Indian (OK)
* Rough Rock Community (AZ)
* Santa Fe Indian (NM)
* Sequoyah HS (OK)
* Sherman Indian HS (CA)
* Shiprock Associated Schools, Inc. (NM)
* Shonto Prep HS (AZ)
* Tuba City Boarding (AZ)
* Wingate HS (NM)

| Closed|

* Albuquerque Indian School (NM)
* Carlisle Indian Industrial School (PA)
* Phoenix Indian School (AZ)

|

Dorms closed|

* Havasupai Boarding and Day School (AZ)
* Rock Point Community School (AZ)
* Northern Cheyenne Tribal School (MT)

Other|

* Alaska
* Galena Interior Learning Acad
* Nenana Student Living Ctr
* Mt. Edgecumbe HS
* California
* California Academy of Mathematics and Science (as of 1993)
* Connecticut
* Gilbert
* Woodstock Acad
* Hawaii
* Lahainaluna HS
* Michigan
* Taylor Int'l Dorm
* New York
* Randolph Academy UFSD Randolph Campus
* Oregon
* Crane Union
* Harper
* Huntington
* Mitchell
* Paisley
* Spray
* SEED Foundation (DC, Maryland, Miami, Los Angeles)

| Merged|

* New York: Hopevale UFSD

|

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States

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