Schools

Perkins Employee Receives Award for Outstanding Contributions to Special Education

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Cristy Lonardo, Coordinator of Residential Living at Perkins School for the Blind. The following announcement was provided by the Mass. Association of Approved Private Schools:

On Thursday, May 1, the Massachusetts Association of Approved Private Schools (MAAPS) held its annual spring board meeting and awards ceremony, spotlighting teaching excellence and outstanding contributions to special education over the past year. 

Cristy Lonardo, Coordinator of Residential Living at Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, was presented the Albert E. Trieschman Direct Service Award, acknowledging superior direct service contributions to special needs children by a clinician, specialist or child care worker. For over a decade, Lonardo has demonstrated exceptional commitment to the residential program at Perkins, fostering a nurturing and open environment that builds trust among families and where creativity flourishes. Cristy’s ongoing participation in special events showcases her investment in the broader community and her advocacy for students with complex needs.

Schools

Boston Bruins Players Visit Perkins School for the Blind to Try Their Hand at Goalball

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Members of the Perkins School for the Blind Goalball team great Boston Bruins players Parker Wotherspoon and Matthew Potras on Friday. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

A couple of special guests showed up at the Perkins School Friday to join the students in a game of goalball — a popular team sport at the school for the blind in Watertown. Boston Bruins players Parker Wotherspoon and Matthew Potras pulled on the eyeshades so they couldn’t use their sight during the game in which teams of three try to roll a rubber ball across the gym and into the opponent’s goal. The ball has a bell in it, to help defenders locate and block the ball. Students and staff lined the upper level of Perkins’ gym to get a glimpse of two pro hockey players join their very own Towerhawks.

Around Town

OBIT: Cynthia Essex, 87, Teacher and Supervisor at Perkins School for the Blind

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Cynthia Essex born on February 14, 1937 and raised in Coventry, Rhode Island, died on January 7, 2025. She graduated from Coventry High School and the University of Rhode Island and later received a master’s degree from Boston College. After graduating from college, she became a third- grade teacher at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA with a specialty in mathematics. She advanced to become Supervisor of the Lower School at Perkins in 1964 and later Supervisor of the Junior and Senior High School. At her retirement after more than 50 years of service, she became a Member of the Corporation at Perkins.

Schools

Perkins School Launches Online Academy for Continuing Education & Professional Development

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The following announcement was provided by Perkins School for the Blind:

Perkins recently launched Perkins Academy, an online continuing education and professional development platform for educators, dedicated to unlocking learning for children with disabilities. The natural extension of Perkins’ mission to help students with disabilities find their place in the world, Perkins Academy will offer remote, on-demand learning opportunities for educators. 

With 95 percent of students with disabilities in public schools, there’s an increased demand to share Perkins know-how across the country with public and private school teachers. Perkins Academy will deliver highly specialized training to educators that goes beyond the resources of many public schools. This past year, Perkins’ Watertown campus educated over 200 students locally, and over 1,000 across the state. The online learning modules will help disseminate the knowledge gained from their work in Massachusetts to teachers and families.

Around Town

New England Patriots Honor Longtime Perkins School Volunteer as a Difference Maker

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Chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group and the New England Patriots Robert Kraft takes a group photo with the 2024 Patriots Difference Makers of the Week. (Photo courtesy of David Silverman/New England Patriots). The New England Patriots honored volunteers on Jan. 5 during a ceremony honoring the 2024 Patriots Difference Makers, including a woman who had volunteered at Perkins School for the Blind for two decades. See details in the announcement from the New England Patriots Foundation below.

Entertainment

Perkins Announces Live Audio Description at Theatrical Performances the Boston Area

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Perkins School for the Blind announced that live audio descriptions for blind and visually impaired audiences at theater and dance performances around the Boston area at venues including the American Repertory Theater, Broadway in Boston, the Colonial Theater, The Huntington Theatre Company, and the Hanover Theatre. Perkins provided the following announcement:

We’re excited to share the 2024-25 season’s live theater productions with audio description (AD), running from October 2024 through August 2025. To read the full season schedule, which is growing every year with more and more productions and venues in Massachusetts. click the link at the bottom. Performances are listed by venue and then by the name of the show and date.

Around Town

Perkins School Hosting Fourth Annual Everbody Move! Walk/Move

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Perkins School for the Blind provided the following announcement:

Next month Perkins School for the Blind will host its fourth annual Everybody Move! Walk/Move for Perkins on October 5th. This family-friendly event begins and ends on the Perkins campus and includes a short walk or move through Watertown, as well as a baby animal petting zoo, snacks and food trucks, and accessible yard games. 

Register online to help create a world of opportunities for children with disabilities and their families.

Around Town

Watertown Advocate for People with Disabilities to Receive Highest Honor in Field of Blindness

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Kim Charlson, executive director of the Perkins School for the Blind’s Library. She will receive the highest honor from the American Foundation for the Blind. (Courtesy of Perkins School)

Longtime director of the Perkins Library and chair of the Watertown Commission on Disability Kim Charlson, has garnered honors and accolades, and later this year she will receive one more when she receives the highest honor in the field of blindness. In September, the Watertown resident will receive the 2024 Migel Medal at the American Foundation for the Blind’s (AFB) annual leadership conference, along with Susan Mazrui. “It is an honor to recognize these two outstanding leaders, who have spent their lives making the world more inclusive and accessible for those who are blind or have low vision,” AFB President and CEO Eric Bridges said in announcement about the award.