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Students at School for Deaf and Blind Appreciate Staunton

Posted: 3:31 PM Apr 18, 2012
Reporter: Litsa Pappas

Students at School for Deaf and Blind Appreciate Staunton

One school is making a difference to help put Staunton on the map.

Devyn Johnson is not your typical 17-year old. He has to overcome the challenge of being deaf.

He said going to the Virginia School for Deaf and Blind has really helped him. Johnson told WHSV, through an interpreter, just what the school means to him.

"I love it here at VSDB," said Johnson. "Ever since I've been here I fell in love with the people here, my friends here, it's very inspiring. There's a deep place in my heart and connection for VSDB."

The school also helps blind students, like Brittany Bomboy, with the latest technology.

"They have braille notes which is basically like braille laptops and then they have Jaws which is a program that will read everything on the computer to blind students," said Bomboy.

It's not just the school that helps these students out. The superintendent at the Virginia School for Deaf and Blind said having the campus in Staunton is a big help too.

"Our students can walk two blocks and they're Downtown,” said Superintendent for Virginia School of Deaf and Blind Nancy Armstrong. “So for blind students, orientation mobility skills, they learn them firsthand here. You know walking the streets of Staunton, going into an establishment, ordering things."

She says the downtown area offers a lot for students like Johnson. He was able to intern there at a photography studio.

"You know I'm used to big cities,” said Johnson. “I'm a city boy. When I first got here it was a more rural area, it was more awkward and I've gotten used to it. It's grown on me. There's an appeal to the small town here. It's different but it's a great experience for me."

An experience that he said helped him get into college for art and photography next year.

Armstrong said students come from all over Virginia to attend this school. It's the only school with deaf and blind programs in the state.

She said the school helps bring more families to the area.