Kyle Elementary students make Braille signs for school

The second grade students in Sarah Black’s class at Kyle Elementary School in Portage observed Disability Awareness Month in a unique way.

“Special education is near and dear to my heart,” said Black, who has been teaching at Kyle for 14 years but started her teaching career in special education.

“I have an awesome class this year and they are very eager to learn,” Black said. “I put up a bulletin board for Disability Awareness Month and the discussions started happening.”

Black’s bulletin board included information on hearing and visual impairments, autism, communication disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. She also posted pictures of celebrities with disabilities.

The students realized that there were very few signs in the school with Braille.

“We were learning about how a blind person reads words,” said Aniylah Montanez, 8. “We were thinking about how they might feel not knowing the rooms.”

Braille signage refers to the tactile ADA signs that can be read by the blind and visually impaired. These signs are legally required to mark all permanent building rooms or spaces in public and commercial buildings in the United States.

Black asked for help from

Nikki Riley, Kyle’s instructional technology specialist, and Riley helped the class make signs for the classroom doors using the 3D printer that the school has available for use.

“The kids each got assigned a classroom, and they had to find out the Braille pattern,” Black said. “I had them make dots with glue to practice the Braille on a sheet before they went to the 3D printer.”

The students made the glue dot signs during their STEM time. Each sign then took one and half-hours to print. They were very excited to see the finished products.

“I hope a blind person is thankful to us,” Aniylah said.

Principal Mike Sopko was pleased to learn about the class project. “It shows that school can be beyond curriculum and students can apply what they have learned to real world situations.”

“I hope this project helps them see more in their world,” Black said. “For example, when they go into a store, maybe they will look for Braille signs.”

“A lot of people with disabilities do not feel seen,” Black said. “I hope that my students can see others in a way that they may not have thought to look before. This class is a great little empathetic bunch and I hope they will take that with them into the world.”