Washington State School for the Blind

Washington State School for the Blind, established in 1886, is located in the historic part of Vancouver, Washington. The campus architecture is a combination of classical revival structures—three buildings are listed on the Historic Registry—and the campus also includes the state‘s largest solar facility. The school has a long history of providing quality services to blind and visually impaired children throughout the State of Washington and has had an active integration program with the Vancouver School District.

At the same time, the school has invited the local community to use its facilities and has worked hard to develop active partnerships with other community agencies and organizations. In the process, the school has become a center of community for the local Vancouver community.

The School‘s Mission

The school began to make changes in its mission beginning in 1990 and over the years it has become a hub of service delivery for the entire state. The school seeks to serve approximately, 1,400 students and the number of children being served has increased by over 500% since 1990.  The school‘s provides approximately 600 vision-related services per month. The school‘s ability to excel has led it to receive numerous state quality awards through the Governor of Washington‘s office, based upon Baldridge Criteria.  

The school‘s unique programs are tailored to meet individual needs. On-campus programs range from pre-school to a residential 5th year post high school. As a unique residential campus, parents have the choice for a short-term or long-term placement, dependent upon individual need. Students enter, learn a skill, and exit back into their local district, then re-enter for additional intensive learning and exit again.  As a result, almost 40 percent of the student population can change in any one year. Students can live on campus to obtain daily living, mobility, and specialized technology skills in addition to standard curriculum. Students also attend the local neighborhood school and Clark Community College.  

The entire campus master plan was driven by a strategic planning process, which, in turn, was driven by a future direction symposium, in which about 170 stakeholders from throughout the state expressed what they would like to see in the future.  It was this document that helped shape the long term capital plan with a strong emphasis on safety, energy conservation and the development of more educational programs.    

Community Use

WSSB‘s philosophy is summed up in Helen Keller‘s words: "Alone we can do so little, Together we can do so much!" The school leaders believe that working with the community as a whole will provide great opportunities that would not be there if it were attempted alone. Due to these partnerships, WSSB has over 50,000 people per year use its facilities.  For example, the Vancouver Police Dept. Detectives Division is located on campus making the campus a very safe place, and the school includes a YMCA, and numerous organizations use the facility on a regular basis, including the neighborhood use of the campus as a park.  

Co-Location Leads to New Partnerships and Success

WSSB has sought out various partnerships to co-locate on the campus in order to enhance opportunities for the blind, increase visibility for the school and increase training opportunities to ensure that Washington has an appropriate supply of trained personnel to work with the blind.  These partnerships include:  Department of Services for the Blind regional office, Pacific University and School of Optometry, local lions clubs, various university teacher training programs, Vancouver Police Departments detectives division, a public non-profit childcare center, regional library/production centers for specialized materials

Back to list of 2007 winners

Home Legal Contact Us

©2008 KnowledgeWorks Foundation & American Architectural Foundation

American Architectural Foundation KnowledgeWorks Foundation