For 15 years, Kate Scally Howell worked as music director at the Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB). In January, ASDB Superintendent Annette Reichman announced the historic school would relocate to Copper Creek Elementary in Oro Valley.
Blind and visually impaired students, however, were told they would not move with their deaf peers and had to find an alternative.
In February, Howell was placed on a reduction-in-force list and told she would no longer be employed by ASDB. She then began advocating for students who would otherwise be placed at cooperative sites within Tucson Unified School District.
In May, Scally Howell signed a lease for a space at 149 Stone Ave and established a non-profit: The Tucson School for the Blind will serve students K-12, with plans to add a preschool program in the next couple of years.
Scally Howell said families using Empowerment Scholarship Account funding can attend with no out-of-pocket tuition costs for families.
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