Pinellas Braille Group

In 1957 a family with two visually impaired children moved to St. Petersburg.  The County Superintendent of Schools promised all the assistance needed for the children to attend public school.  The first itinerant teacher for special education was then employed.

At the same time, the Temple Beth-El Sisterhood was seeking to extend its community services into the St. Petersburg community.  Recognizing the opportunity to pursue one of its national goals (service to the blind), the Sisterhood established a class to train volunteer Braille transcribers.  Their first class was offered to the women of the Temple under the tutelage of Mrs. Syble Cass. 

From this modest beginning, the Pinellas Braille Group was formed and has been sponsored by the Temple Beth-El for 65 years.  It is an autonomous, non-denominational group of volunteers.  The PBG produces Braille and digital recordings for use in the schools and for anyone who requires Braille services.  Instruction and workshops are conducted to train additional volunteers in these two media.

The Braille volunteers produce literary works and textbooks.  Some braillists specialize in mathematics, science and foreign languages. We currently produce a minimum of 100 early reader braille books each month to help teach young students to read braille.

Once a year the PBG presents the Mildred Shavlan Achievement Awards to visually-impaired students attending grades 6-12 in the Pinellas County School System .  These awards are given in recognition of educational achievement, mobility and development in independent living skills.  The award honors Mildred Shavlin, one of the early pioneering members of the PBG and the Temple Sisterhood.

The Pinellas Braille Group has also produced two exhibits of artwork by visually impaired students of the Pinellas School system. These exhibits were displayed at two prominent Arts Centers in Pinellas County so everyone could appreciate the creative minds of our visually impaired children.

KIDDIE LIT PROGRAM

The Pinellas Braille Group initiated a program for young readers several years ago to help them and their families to learn to read and to learn to read braille.

We work in concert with the Florida Instructional Materials for the Visually Impaired Center in Tampa, FL and with the public to obtain new or slightly used early reader books. Our members transcribe the print text of the books into braille, which we then place directly into the books on transparent label material. The print text shows through the braille, and families, teachers, friends and classmates can read along with the braille reader.

This highly successful program has brought over 1000 books to visually impaired student readers over the course of 5 years. To learn more about this program or to donate books, contact Mary Klein.

AUDIO RECORDINGS

One group of our volunteers produces high quality audio recording that pair with the braille transcriptions of books so that children can learn correct pronunciation of words as they are learning to read the words. These dedicated people work from their homes using computer programs and their own voices to give life to the characters in books. To learn more about this aspect of our work, contact Gary Zeigler.

MILDRED SHAVLAN ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

In 1986, the Pinellas Braille Group, Inc. established the Mildred Shavlan Achievement Award Fund to recognize Mrs. Shavlan’s many years of service to visually impaired students. Since 1957 when the Pinellas Braille Group was formed, Mrs. Shavlan taught braille to volunteers and transcribed many textbooks used by visually impaired students throughout the country and state.

A nomination form is sent to the teachers of visually impaired students in the 6th through 12th grades in Pinellas County schools. The form requests information regarding the student’s academic development and other aspects of achievement during the school year. Teachers send the completed form to the Award Committee who meet and weigh the merits of each application for monetary awards. The awards are presented to the students at each school’s Award Assembly along with a certificate of achievement.

Students are eligible for consideration for this award annually from grades 6 to 12. Prior receipt of the award does not disqualify the student for consideration the following year.

A copy of the application form is included here. It may be printed, filled out by the appropriate teachers and sent to the Pinellas Braille Group for consideration. Applications are due no later than the 15th of April for that year’s consideration.

Donations toward the awards are gratefully accepted also and may be sent to the Pinellas Braille Group and specified for the Mildred Shavlan Achievement Award.

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