Welcome

     My name is Judi Downing.  In May of 2003, Angleton ISD found out that the current Teacher of the Visually Impaired would be leaving.  At the same time, I was ready to go back to college to earn another degree and was investigating the possibilities and degrees available.  The Special Education Administrator brought the information about the Vision field to me and I began to explore the field more closely.  I found that there was and is a great need for teachers willing to work with children with visual impairments.  I have always worked with children with special needs and wanted to continue to do so.  This would give me an opportunity to do so.  Not only that, but there was also grants and scholarships available that would pay for the Master's level classes I would need to earn the certification needed to teach children with visual impairments. 

     That summer, I took a Braille class and one other class and was able to begin working as a Teacher of the Visually Impaired while I continued to take the remainder of my classes through Texas Tech online.  If you are interested in the program to become a Teacher of the Visually Impaired, you can click on the link on the right for the Reach Across Texas Program for more information.

That was the best choice for me.  I love what I do and the students I work with.  This is going on my fifth year of working with students who have visual impairments. I work with children from birth to 22 years old and in the past four years, I have grown very close to my students.  In fact, I want to be able to help them so much, I am now working on a certification to become an Orientation  and Mobility Specialist.  (That program is also sponsored by the Reach Across Texas Scholarship program.)