By BA Sentinel Staff
MUSKOGEE –– Jaden Brown from Broken Arrow earned a silver medal in the Apprentice Transition 2 category at the Oklahoma School for the Blind’s regional Braille Challenge competition in Muskogee on March 4. Brown is an OSB senior.
Forty-six Oklahoma students competed at OSB for medals and prizes in the annual academic competition that is part of the National and Youth Programs of the Braille Institute.
“Braille Challenge is the only national Braille literacy competition of its kind in the country,” Faye Miller, competition coordinator and OSB Orientation and Mobility instructor, said. “This contest is specifically designed to challenge and reward students for their study of braille, which is essential to their future academic and employment success.”
Students practiced braille reading and writing skills for The Oklahoma Regional Braille Challenge. They hone their braille skills to medal in the competition and improve on their performance from year to year. While these skills now are used in the competition, they will serve them for a lifetime.
Every competitor selected a prize this year and received Braille Challenge T-shirts purchased with the support of many long-time sponsors of the Oklahoma Regional Braille Challenge. Students also picked up goodie bags with items purchased with donations.
“Anything we can do to make reading more fun and help students improve their skills, I am all for that,” OSB Superintendent Brent Pearce said. “This challenge motivates the students to improve their comprehension, spelling and proofreading. They want those medals and prizes.”
Braille Challenge contestants will receive brailled certificates and general performance feedback later this spring from the Braille Institute to help continue to improve their skills.
Contestants in the apprentice, freshman and Transition categories were tested on spelling, reading comprehension and proofreading.
Sophomore, junior varsity and varsity contestants were scored on charts and graphs, reading comprehension and proofreading. They also listened and transcribed passages into braille in a speed and accuracy contest.
The Braille Institute will invite the top 50 finalists from the United States, Canada , the United Kingdom and Australia to compete in the National Braille Challenge in Los Angeles in June. Oklahoma competitors have advanced to the national finals 28 times since 2003.
This year’s Oklahoma Regional Braille Challenge sponsors included the Oklahoma School for the Blind, Braille Institute of America, Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of Blind and Visually Impaired, Friends of the Library OSLS, Liberty Braille, NanoPac, NewView Oklahoma, Oklahoma Chapter of AERBVI, Oklahoma Council of the Blind, Park Hill OHCE, Ruth Kelly Studios, Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Transcribing Mariners, Tulsa Downtown Lions Club, Sapulpa Lions Club.
OSB is a division of the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services. For more information, phone 877-229-7136 toll free or visit http://osb.k12.ok.us/
Oklahoma School for the Blind offers free comprehensive academic, extracurricular and outreach programs to blind or visually impaired students who live on campus four days each week, commute from home or attend summer school programs.
Academic programs for OSB students meet state-mandated education requirements. Specialized instruction includes Braille, orientation and mobility training, optimum use of low-vision adaptive equipment, assistive technology graphic skills not readily available at other public schools in Oklahoma.
Students may participate in sports, leadership programs and award-winning OSB Jazz Band. OSB provides free evaluations and outreach services to students attending local public schools, their families and educators. OSB had a 100% graduation rate in 2022-2023.
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