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VIDBE-Q Volume 64 Issue 3
impairments: teaching. I am a city-wide teacher of students with visual
impairments and a certified orientation and mobility specialist with Chicago
Public Schools. With the third largest school district in the United States,
we are a sizeable department of teachers of students with visual
impairments. We see a wide range of students and a gamut of placements
from neighborhood schools, charter schools, selective enrollments and
programs designed for students with visual impairments. Our students are
as diverse as the city of Chicago, and the question of how the needs of
these students are met by the educational system is what first interested
me in a research program.
Currently at UIC, I am a doctoral student in the Special Education
department working with Daniel M. Maggin, PhD. I have the privilege of
being a fellow in the Special Education Leaders for Urban Centers of
Tomorrow (SELECT) project. The focus of the SELECT program is to
further explore the urban-context-specific aspects of special education
through a lens of promoting special education leadership in school
environments. I have been incredibly lucky to study with a cohort group that
encompasses a wide range of special education teachers and
administrators. With this cohort from a diverse series of backgrounds and
