Creating a greater sense of community and involving everyone is huge here at TSBVI and nothing shows that more than TSBVI's Java Jam. This weekly event featuring music and hospitality from students and staff, and draws folks from across our campus to enjoy the festivities and grab a beverage to keep them going for the rest of the day. We get the feeling this newly created campus gem is here to stay. 

Braille literacy rates continue to be low and organizations like the ACB Braille Revival League and the Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities are working to increase awareness and ensure all students who are blind or have low vision have access to braille instruction. Larry Johnson and Neva Fairchild are staunch advocates for braille, know exactly why our students need braille, and are willing to lend us their expertise.

Better late than never, but in this episode we want to highlight the Haunted House at TSBVI, which has been resurrected this spooky season after taking a few years off. It's always a special opportunity to let the community create an inclusive fall event on our campus that we hope to keep going for years to come. Come along with Emily as she takes her turn through the haunted house and then hear from the students and staff who make the halloween magic happen.

Most all of us need a cup of coffee to add that extra perk to the morning or get over the mid-afternoon slump, but not all of us are lucky enough to have highly trained baristas on hand to get a delicious cup of joe without leaving the office. Help us kick off the new year by letting us show you how we get our caffeine fix at TSBVI at the Wildcat Coffee Shop. 

Every spring, The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired puts on a play production that brings joy, and maybe a little stress, to the lives of students and staff from across our campus. This year we presented Disney's Moana Jr. Please join us as staff share the process and the positive impact it has on our students.

One of our main goals as a school for blind, low vision, and deafblind students is to expose students to as many experiences they can learn from as possible. Recently our host Emily Coleman helped to teach our Capitol Experience class, which gave the class a trip to the capitol to help advocate for their chosen causes to state representatives and their staff. This trip also gave them the chance to meet with Ron Lucey, the Executive Director of the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities to learn about his job and how they can improve government for themselves. 

Understanding why an individual is blind, deafblind, or has low vision is key to understanding how to get them the support and services they need, especially for students. We're so happy to have TSBVI Outreach consultants Kathi Garza and Rachel Collins join us to discuss 5 etiologies (and one bonus one!) and how recognizing these conditions can help improve outcomes across our student population. 

Public transportation has always been key to increasing mobility for blind and visually impaired people and new technology is advancing public transport to a whole new level. So we were delighted to have Waymo visit our campus last October to get a look at fully autonomous vehicles being tested in Austin. Waymo was kind enough to gift our campus with some codes to use the Waymo app during their testing phase and we have been able to share those with blind users and tech lovers across campus. With these codes we were able to take some newbies out for a few test rides to get their thoughts on this new technology and later we welcomed Amanda Ventura from Waymo to answer some of our questions. Be sure to visit https://waymo.com/ to find out more about Waymo in Austin and beyond. 

Learn more about this amazing sport with insights from its coaches and even top athletes! We will dive into what Blind Soccer is all about, why it means so much to its players and surrounding communities, and how it can help develop key skills like coordination, spatial awareness, teamwork and much more.