6th Annual Statewide Symposium for Vision Professionals in Kansas
October 27, 2023
ACVREP RPPLE credit is available.
Location: Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview Wichita
Cost: FREE with lunch provided the day of the event
Who: Vision professionals (TSVIs, COMS, Braillists and Instructional Assistants) along with general and special education professionals who work with students with a visual impairment are encouraged to attend.
Contact: Pam Arbeiter, 1100 State Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66102-4411
(913) 424-3324 parbeiter@kssdb.org
Join us on Thursday, October 26 from 4:30 pm to 5:45pm at Envision Art Gallery for an informative session on accessible arts and a tour of the art exhibits by Lily Dickson and George Mendoza.
About the Artists
HANDS ON featuring Lily Dickson
Lily Dickson is an artist who has a passion for tactile, fully-accessible art. As a legally blind artist and student at the Kansas City Art Institute, she is able to unleash her creativity and bring beautiful art to life through various mediums including painting, miniatures, sculpting, and drawing. Her passion is to build a culture of inclusion and accessibility within the world of art. Living by the motto, “art is for all”, drives the socially responsible delivery of art programs to youth and adults through various organizations in Kansas City and beyond.
Colors of the Wind
Artist, athlete, and motivational speaker, George Mendoza is famous for creating colorfully vivid dreamscapes that capture the surreal essence of his experience.
Based in Las Cruces, NM, George Mendoza is a world renowned artist and writer and the CEO and President of the Wise Tree Foundation, Inc., which was established in 2013 to promote the arts for the disabled. Mendoza went blind when he was 15 and broke the world record for blind athletes running the mile in 4 minutes and 28 seconds in 1980. His art exhibit Colors of the Wind is on view with the National Smithsonian and he has also written a children’s book based on the exhibit. He was the producer for two nationally televised PBS documentaries based on his life story and has won many awards in the arts. Currently a screenplay based on Mendoza’s life is being developed by writer Daniel Landes.
Derrick Smith is a professor and Associate Dean in the College of Education of the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). Dr. Smith runs the STEM-VI Mathematics Research Laboratory where his team focuses on research on STEM education for students with visual impairments and blindness. He has published and presented extensively on topics related to STEM education for students with visual impairments, particularly on mathematics education.
Dr. Tanni Anthony is the Director of the Access, Learning, and Literacy (ALL) Team with the Exceptional Student Services Unit within the Colorado Department of Education. She presents frequently on the topics of sensory disabilities in the early years and working with children and youth with sensory and additional disabilities.
Stacey Chambers earned her M.Ed. in Visual Disabilities from Vanderbilt University and has been an Itinerant Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments in Texas for 13 years. She is passionate about learners with visual and multiple impairments as well as making the ECC meaningful and fun for learners, educators, and families.
Judy Endicott, with 26 years of experience working with special education students, students at risk for reading failure, and general ed students, faced one of her greatest challenges – how to teach her grandson with Cortical Visual Impairment to read. Her passion and commitment, ever since, has been to learn about CVI, investigate the newest research in the area of literacy for all students, and to share this knowledge with families and professionals.
2023 Vision Symposium Agenda
This one day FREE training will focus on the research and practice in effective Specialized Instruction for students with a Visual Impairment.
Breakout session topics will include: implementation of the Expanded Core such as Transition supports, Assistive Technology and Orientation and Mobility.
Sample Agenda:
8:00 Registration
8:45 Welcome and Kick-Off
9:30 Keynote Speaker: Robbin Clark
10:45 Breakout Session 1
11:45 Lunch and Vendor Fair
12:45 Breakout Session 2
2:00 Breakout Session 3
3:00 Closing and Door prizes
NOTE: “The content and presentations of the Vision Symposium are intended to address the specific needs/interests of TSVIs/COMS in Kansas. Other district employees are welcome to register/attend with the understanding that the focus of the event will be geared toward certified professionals in the field of vision.”
Sponsored by:
