VIDBE-Q 2025 Volume 70 Issue 3
A search online and in our libraries found ONE article, and it was not even
written in the US. I knew we had to do better. I started reaching out to the field and
asking about agriculture education programs at specialized schools for the blind.
Many people had not heard of such a thing. Then I ran into a friend, Dan Kelly, at
the Ohio American Council for the Blind annual conference. He told me about an
amazing program in Alabama where students were engaged in an agriculture
program.
Fast forward, I was able to meet Kalie Mitchell [second author], a 10
th
grade
physical science teacher and agriscience teacher for the Alabama School for the
Blind (ASB) which is part of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind (AIDB).
Ms. Mitchell is also a 4-H volunteer and runs 4-H club meetings at the school so
that her students can participate in projects and competitions along with their peers.
Her students breed, raise, and show bantam chickens. They are involved in the
process from hatch to show. In fact, one of the chickens shown from the school
received "Champion" and "Reserve Champion", while another received "Fourth
Best in Show". In addition, the students tend to crops ranging from tomatoes to
corn. Other projects that the students are involved in include baking, graphic
design, photography, public speaking, gardening, and woodworking.
