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Annual Report (Accessible Webpage)
Note: This is the TEXT ONLY version with pictures descriptions (PD)
NMSBVI
2025
Annual Report
(Cover photo: Bear mascot in blue NMSBVI uniform with blue and yellow poms poms smiles and looks at camera in the gym; students in adaptive seating line the court cheering in the background.)
Table of Contents
2025-2026 NMSBVI BOARD OF REGENTS
The Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC)
Assistive Technology Lending Library
Outcomes & Students Served Data:
Personnel Prep: New Mexico State University Visual Impairment Program (NMSU-VIP)
Instructional Resource Center (NM-IRC)
NM PED Adopts Braille Standards
From the Superintendent...
(Headshot of Superintendent Heather Miller)
Dear NMSBVI Family and Partners,
This report shows the breadth of services that NMSBVI provided to the children with vision impairments or blindness in the state of New Mexico during the 2024-2025 school year.
We continue to try to reach as many students in the state as possible. Not only do we have our two school campuses, but we also provide statewide services through our Outreach and Birth-3 departments. We also provide specialized materials to students around the state through the Instructional Resource Center. In addition, NMSBVI provides free or low-cost professional development for educators throughout the state.
Through our campuses and statewide services, NMSBVI strives to provide and support an education that is rich with experience and learning for all students with blindness and visual impairments in NM. NMSBVI is grateful to our many partners and stakeholders. The funding that NMSBVI receives is used to support our campus programming and various statewide services to serve the children and professionals of NM with blindness and vision impairments from birth to 22 years of age. NMSBVI is a unique community filled with passionate, committed, and creative experts who endeavor to do everything to support student success.
We are honored to serve our NM children!
Heather Miller, Ed.D.
2025-2026 NMSBVI BOARD OF REGENTS
1. Agnes Vallejos, President (Los Lunas, NM)
2. Catherine Gray, (Albuquerque, NM)
3. Robyn Holmes, (Alamogordo, NM)
4. Jamie Sibson, (Albuquerque, NM)
(Headshot of each regent is above their name)
Mission
NMSBVI, an innovative and transformative leader and unifying entity in the field of educating students birth through high school who are blind or visually impaired, will identify students and promote quality education through collaborative relationships with students, families, and local/state/national partners through outstanding advocacy, training, resources, and support services, thus empowering all students who are blind or visually impaired to become independent, productive members of their communities.
Goals
NMSBVI s Strategic Plan drives decision-making at every level. This plan was updated and revised, with new goals and objectives, through the strategic planning process in Spring of 2024; 30 participants representing 15 departments, including one parent, participated in the process. This 5-year plan centers on 5 overarching goals that support all of the initiatives of the school. Each goal has action steps and timelines to provide clarity and direction for our staff and maintain our focus on educating students with vision impairments and blindness throughout the state. The goals are:
1. We will support systems that result in sufficient numbers of highly qualified specialized staff in the field of blindness and visual impairment for the State of New Mexico.
2. We will advance systems to convey and receive information about blindness and visual impairment educational services, trends, research, etc. to all those involved or interested in serving students who are blind or visually impaired.
3. We will develop systems that support the early identification as well as successful transitions of students with blindness or visual impairment and their programming across settings.
4. We will develop and maintain local, state, and national relationships and partnerships essential to the immediate and long-term successes of each student with blindness or visual impairment.
5. NMSBVI will participate in cross- program collaboration to identify, document, share, and advance the efficacy of comprehensive practices in order to ensure that all programs are identifying, following and contributing to the best practices in educating all students with visual impairments.
SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTION
The Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC)
is a disability-specific curriculum for children who are blind or visually impaired and is addressed at all ages. The ECC includes skills that are critical to a student s ability to access and participate in the core curriculum (math, language, arts, science, social studies, etc.), interact with peers, and ultimately participate in their community and workplace as an adult.
Teaching students who are visually impaired is not very complicated, but it is not intuitive, either. Students who are blind or have low vision (visually impaired), whose visual impairment is significant enough to adversely affect their education, require specialized instruction from professionals trained in understanding the impact visual impairment has on learning and development. At the foundation of teaching students with visual impairments is addressing skills and concepts that are typically learned through observation and visual access. In the presence of a visual impairment, incidental learning is either incomplete or nonexistent, resulting in the need for specialized instructional strategies and direct teaching through repeated, hands-on learning experiences. The skills our students need to reach their independent potential are often not adequately addressed through instruction and material adaptations in the general education curriculum, alone. These additional skills are referred to as the Expanded Core Curriculum (Allman & Lewis, 2014).
Assistive Technology: using electronic equipment and blindness-specific devices to access electronic information, print and computers
Career Education: knowledge, behaviors, and skills to prepare students for work and careers.
Compensatory Access: concept development and skills to access learning environment, including literacy and communication
Social Interaction Skills: to actively and appropriately participate in social situations, verbal and nonverbal social competence, social skills, and relationships.
Orientation & Mobility: knowing how to orient and travel safely, efficiently, and independently
Sensory Efficiency: learning to use all their senses to access environments and information, including functional vision
Recreation & Leisure: developing skills and interest in physical and leisure activities for choosing how to spend free time.
Self-Determination: empowering the student to believe in oneself, advocate for themselves, and meet their goals.
Independent Living: to care for oneself completing tasks and functions for living, managing, and maintaining daily life (eating, dressing, hygiene, time management).
PD: 1. Female student using a CCTV magnifier to read print on a piece of paper (assistive technology); 2. Professional photographer shows off camera to NMSBVI student interested in media for career education; 3. Two teenage female students talk together at Prom (social interaction skills; 4. Male student walks down hallway using his white cane (O&M); 5. Student runs on a treadmill (rec & leisure); 6. Female teenage student holds open washer in laundry room (independent living)
NMSBVI PROGRAMMING
Birth to Three (B-3) Program
Luanne Stordahl, Program Coordinator
NMSBVI s Birth to Three Program provides early intervention services to children with visual impairments and their families in their homes and communities. NMSBVI partners with the Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) to identify very young children with visual impairments and those who are at risk so that they can begin receiving comprehensive services early, thus maximizing their potential. NMSBVI B-3 provides services statewide at no cost to families. Services for children before the age of three are unique and are provided using a coaching model in the context of family routines in the child s natural environment. NMSBVI provides developmental vision services and orientation & mobility services in collaboration with the child s early intervention provider.
342 served on caseloads
1142 referrals
647 screenings
PD: B-3 Provider and young female child doing a baking activity; provider is pouring patter into muffin cups smiling while student tosses her head back laughing.
Early Childhood Program
Paul Kilman, Program Coordinator
NMSBVI s Early Childhood Program is located in Albuquerque and serves students from preschool through kindergarten from surrounding school districts. Programming focuses on the unique needs of young students who are visually impaired, providing hands-on experiences, access accommodations, and developmental instruction through a transdisciplinary team approach.
There are 10 classrooms, taught by licensed Teachers of Students who are Visually Impaired (TSVIs) or enrolled in the NMSU-VIP program. In addition to classroom programming, ECP staff are also involved in local and national presentations, presentations/trainings, hosting monthly parent groups, seasonal family and alumni events, and provide tours/internships for UNM and NMSU students in a variety of programs
59 students served
100+ family night attendance
PD: Female preschool student wearing red apron stands at a table: hands, table, and small pieces of pool noodle are covered in shaving cream. She holds up clump of pool noodle pieces while looking intently at them.
PD: Female preschool student walking with white cane in front of her looking at the camera with focused look on her face.
Residential Campus
Maritza Morales, Principal of Academic Programming
Jackie Freeman, Principal of Functional Learning Programs
As determined by their IEPs, NMSBVI students are able to attend courses in the local school district for access to wide-ranging course options and a variety of peers. In addition to their academic learning, our students education is further individualized with opportunities to participate in adaptive PE, music, community-based instruction, transition programming, and life skills instruction. Students experience specialized learning which includes multi-sensory experiences, opportunities for repeated instruction as needed, and a variety of hands-on educational activities that support real-life connections and access. Related service providers deliver services through a collaborative push-in model to ensure access and skill development in meaningful contexts. Student Athletics The residential school is located at our historic campus in Alamogordo, NM and serves students from PreK through graduation that travel in or reside on campus during the week. To ensure a robust education, programming includes intensive, individualized instruction with focus on both core curriculum, which is tied to the national common core standards, and the expanded core curriculum. Instruction is offered through a differentiated model and ranges from functional academic learning and communication development to grade level academic instruction.
13 counties represented
46 students served on campus
13 students participating in inclusion
PD: Top corner: picture of main campus Linda Lyle Building entrance with flag poles of New Mexico, United States, and NMSBVI flags waving.
PD: Teenage female student sits reading braille pages in a binder.
Student Athletics
The athletic program at NMSBVI brings the benefits of student athletics, along with access to sports and social inclusion for students who are blind and visually impaired. NMSBVI provides exposure to a variety of accessible sports including blind soccer, beep baseball, tandem running, and the most popular team sport, goalball.
PD: gold/yellow pompoms and athletic bear logo with Go Bears across the section; Homecoming Goalball Champions 2024 under the team pictures (5 students behind 3 coaches).
PD: Female student independently skis down hill with arms up in front of her.
Outreach Department
Julie Johnson, Outreach Program Coordinator
NMSBVI Outreach Department conducts Functional Vision Evaluations and Learning Media Assessments for districts without a TSVI, and partners with some districts to provide direct services. Outreach staff also mentor NMSU-VIP TSVI interns while they work with students in their home school district. The department also coordinates and hosts regional Learning Circles on specific topics that allow professionals working with students with visual impairments to learn, connect, and collaborate.
16 direct service students/districts
12 evaluations to support districts
17 NMSU-VIP TSVI interns mentored
Low Vision Clinics
Margaret Hidalgo,LVC Coordinator
9 statewide clinics
7 single-day clinics
1 two-day clinics
46 total students seen (32 new - 14 returning)
The Access to Learning Low Vision Clinic (LVC) provides a specialized examination by a low vision specialist to determine the student s level of functioning and provide detailed reports of doctor s findings and recommendations for low vision devices or eyeglass prescriptions. In collaboration with the ATLL, these evaluations also include assistive technology.
PD: Low Vision Specialist stands in front of student sitting while LVC Coordinator holds occluder over student s left eye during an exam.
Assistive Technology Lending Library
MarLisa Jacobs & Fatima Portugal, Assistive Technology Consultants
The ATLL is a statewide program that loans specialized equipment to students across the state. Our AT consultants offer training, consults, and evaluations, and work directly with students and education teams to identify appropriate assistive technology devices, software options, and applications. The ATLL collaborates with other agencies to provide e-readers and refreshable braille displays to TSVIs throughout the state.
71 students served
58 trainings
63 AT devices loaned
35 districts/charters
PD: Teenage Male student leans in close to view the screen of a CCTV Video magnifer next to a laptop.
FINANCIAL DATA
Outcomes & Students Served Data:
1,505 Students received direct service on campus/caseload, Summer Camps, referrals, and evaluations
105 Students on Campus
o 59 at ECP, Albuquerque
o 46 on Residential Campus, Alamogordo
1200+ Evaluations
o 17 FVE/LMAs for districts
o 46 Low Vision Evaluations
o 42 AT Evaluations
o 1142 B-3 referrals
59,364 Braille pages produced
2,152 students served
100+ Braille Proficient Staff
3000+ APH Items Loaned
o to 38 districts from the NM-IRC
o 60+ APH AT devices loaned
774,492 miles driven
Counties Served (map of NM Counties shaded based on range of students served in that county):
o 380+: Bernallilo
o 60-75: Dona Ana, Otero
o 30-45: San Jan, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Valencia, Socorro
o 10-20: Rio Arriba, Taos, McKinley, San Miguel, Torrance, Chaves, Grant, Luna, Eddy, Lea
o 1-9: Colfax, Union, Cibola, Los Alamos, Guadalupe, Curry, De Baca, Roosevelt, Lincoln, Sierra, Catron, Hidalgo
NMSBVI Programming Continued
Personnel Prep: New Mexico State University Visual Impairment Program (NMSU-VIP)
Loana Mason, Ed.D., COMS, Visual Impairment Program Coordinator
The VIP is the result of a more than 20-year partnership between New Mexico State University and NMSBVI and is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). It is the only personnel preparation program in the state that prepares teachers of students with visual impairments (TSVIs) and certified orientation and mobility specialists (COMSs). Moreover, it is one of ~30 such programs in the United States and one of ~50 such programs in the entire world. The VIP program offers various tracks of coursework and internship hours within home districts, working closely with NMSBVI Outreach for mentorship.
14 enrolled students
9 completed VIP program
3 completed COMS program
PD: 2 pairs of adult females, one guide and one wearing sleepshade, walk down outside stairs on main campus; instructor follows behind.
Instructional Resource Center (NM-IRC)
Jami Berryhill, Program Coordinator
The Instructional Resource Center (NM-IRC) provides specialized and adapted materials to school districts and students across New Mexico. The NM-IRC also provides APH materials through the Federal Quota Fund program.
The NM-IRC provides textbook transcription services to districts through the braille production team, as well as the NM Repository, which is a library of braille and large print textbooks previously purchased by a school district that can be loaned to other schools at no cost.
4,123 print/large print pages braille
59,364 pages tactile
724 graphics
PD: Male student carries an APH box and small cane down the storage shelves of the IRC.
Maker Mondays
This new educational program was inspired by the Make 48 competition in Kansas City, Missouri, in which three of our students competed last year. Every Maker Monday , students are presented with a design challenge. Students use brainstorming and collaboration skills to create solutions.
Students imagine, research, and plan designs. After planning and pricing out a budget for their design, students meet with the bankers. Next, they build their designs, followed by testing, evaluating, and improving their prototypes. When the projects are complete, students present their designs at the Maker s Showcase, where staff and community guests visit the students stations and ask questions.
In the spring, our Secondary Academic Students participated in the nationwide Make48 STADIUM ACCESSIBILITY Challenge. The teams had to begin with a 1-minute video, followed by a 4-5 minute pitch presentation, and finally, a 4-5 minute Q & A with a judge's panel (all in front of an audience made up of NMSBVI staff!) This was an valuable opportunity for our students to practice competitive presentation skills in front of an audience.
PD: Female secondary student holds up their project during presentation.
PD: Male student wearing safety glasses sits at table holding a nail and hammer.
PD: two secondary students (one male one female) present their ideas; female is holding the microphone mid-presentation.
Summer Camp
Jenilee Charley, Camp Coordinator
NMSBVI offers several summer camp opportunities to any student with a visual impairment in New Mexico. Camps are held on both campuses, and sometimes on the road in other areas of the state. Camps in Alamogordo offer dorm experience, as well as daytime activities that focus on independence, daily living skills, and social interactions with new and familiar peers. Students at all camps are provided enriching summertime activities through field trips, such as hiking, movies, and shopping at local stores! Summer Camp
18 ALAMOGORDO ATTENDEES
12 ALBUQUERQUE ATTENDEES
15 ECP-CAMP ATTENDEES 15
PD: Female student wearing goggles and laying on back comes out the bottom of a twirly tube waterslide.
Early O&M New Mexico Style
Since 2007, when NMSBVI B-3 started providing orientation and mobility (O&M) services as part of early intervention services, they have grown from 2 COMS to 10+ COMS traveling the state to complete evaluations and provide ongoing services. As one of only a few states with dedicated early intervention O&M services, our NMSBVI O&M team has shared their purpose, family-centered approach, and developmentally appropriate strategies at national conferences, university guest lectures, and even in TXSenseAbilities Online Magazine. The following is a summary of why early O&M is so important and the ways our COMS get kids moving in meaningful ways.
What is Early O&M? It focuses on promoting independence and safety; working on body and spatial awareness, active learning, purposeful movement, location concepts, community outings and more. Following each child s lead and making these experiences FUN is key to encouraging them to move with intention across a variety of settings.
o PD: Rita Garcia and Amy Fletcher stand in front of their presentation screen titled FUNDamentals of B-3 O&M in New Mexico
Families are coached and taught how to make home environments and play spaces accessible for their child. Play and enjoyable movement are prioritized, along with home and community visits that provide opportunities for caregivers and child to practice routines together.
o PD: toddler walks between two adults holding finger of one adult and cane with the other hand while the other adult holds the cane behind the toddler s hand
Early Purposeful Movement: Meaningful movement is different for every child; early O&M focuses on creating play spaces and opportunities in the family s daily routines that encourages the child to move. Whether reaching, rolling, walking, or running, motivation to move is often hindered by a visual impairment. B-3 O&M helps establish movement opportunities that are accessible and meaningful to the child, often through senses other than vision and the Active Learning approach.
o PD: young child sits in adaptive seating with mobile/arch of toys/materials/texture hanging down; student looks and reaches for toy
Introducing the White Cane: For children who may need to use a cane as a tool to preview and navigate their environment, we start with an exploratory cane to introduce the features of the cane and early tool-use. As they learn to move out into space, other devices such as an adaptive mobility device (AMD), a toddler cane and/or adult teaching cane, are taught in a variety of environments as early as possible. This allows more time not only for the child to learn how to use the information from the cane and to learn a tool they re likely to use for a lifetime, but also for the family to learn and process what independence may look like for their child.
o PD: baby in highchair with tray mouths the handle of the small exploratory white cane
o PD: 2-year old uses white cane to detect steps going down between bleachers.
10+certified Orientation & Mobility Specialists (COMS) in B-3
Community and Special Events
Braille Challenge
Julie Johnson, Outreach Coordinator
Braille Challenge is a one-of-a-kind competition developed by the National Braille Institute to motivate students to practice and hone braille literacy skills. Held in the U.S. and Canada, regionals take place between January and March to qualify for nationals. The NMSBVI Outreach Department plans and hosts the NM Regional Event. This event is open to any NM student who is learning or using braille as their reading media. The 25th Anniversary regional event was held in Alamogordo on February 24, 2024. 15 students participated, and we also had a great turn out of family members.
PD: Braille Challenge 25 Anniversary Logo
White Cane Day
Both campuses celebrated White Cane Safety Day with parades, special activities, and games to celebrate the white cane as a tool and symbol of independence! Residential Campus students joined the NM Commission for the Blind for a campus parade and reception. Our ECP students celebrated on campus with cane decorating, obstacle courses, and a pinata!
PD: Adults wearing sleepshades and using their white cane lead a large group of NMSBVI students and staff down the sidewalk on Main Campus during the parade.
NMSBVI Homecoming
NMSBVI hosted teams from the California, Colorado, and Minnesota for the Blind for a Goalball Tournament and celebratory Homecoming dance! Schools
PD: photo collage with cartoon drawing of a brown bear in blue/yellow cheerleader uniform with pompoms in the center. Photo 1: 2 NMSBVI goalball players congratulate each other on the court; Photo 2: 3 female students smile at the camera during the homecoming dance; photo 3: Golden bear mascot shakes pompoms in front of students/staff watching the game from the side of the court; Photo 4: 2 younger male students and a teacher sit at a table outside making a sign that says Go Golden Bears
PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS
NMSBVI continues to work with other organizations and partners in-state, nationally, and even internationally to serve our students and mission. Several collaborative projects were initiated or continued through the 2024-2025 school year. Partnership with NMSU personnel prep for training teachers of students with visual impairments and certified orientation and mobility specialists. Collaborate with the NM Commission for the Blind to provide a variety of transition (14+ years) programming, as well as statewide training planning, and NMSU internship opportunities. Consulted with Tijeras Biozone Open Space partners on the Inclusive Sensory Trail project Partnered with Explora! Children s Museum on their Blindness/Low Vision Accessibility grant; presented on this collaboration and project outcomes at InterActivity Convention 2025. Collaboration and participation with NM-UDL team on access technology and apps.
PD: row of logos: UNM, Explora!, NMUDL-CREC, NM Commission for the Blind
NMSBVI wants to acknowledge continued funding support from community partners, donors, and other state programs. We are thankful for the continued support from The Navajo Nation, who funds two developmental vision specialists, the Land Grant Permanent Fund and support from the NM Land office, the current state legislatures who have funded capital projects for our Alamogordo Campus, and the NMSBVI Foundation, which also provides funding support for unmet needs of the school. Working towards our mission and serving students throughout the state would not be possible without this financial support.
NM PED Adopts Braille Standards
On June 25, 2024, the NM Public Education Department adopted the braille standards and the companion guide, and the rule requiring implementation of these standards was entered into the NM administrative code as Title 6, Chapter 29, Part 18 (6.29.18). Six highly experienced professionals worked diligently to align braille literacy standards with the common core print literacy standards. In NM, the rulemaking process begins with a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the NM Register. Upon the completion of public hearings and the consideration of public input, NM PED solidifies a final version, which is voted on by the NM Public Education Commission. The approved rule is submitted to the State Registry for official publication and becomes final and enforceable on the date of publication, at which point NM PED is tasked with enforcing the new rule. The passage of the braille standards was a significant victory in solidifying the equality of braille literacy with print literacy.
PD: NMPED logo; photo of a hand reading a braille book laying on top of the NMSBVI yearbook; photo of hands writing on a Perkins braillewriter.
NMSBVI FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS
Justin Burks, Facilities & Capital Projects Coordinator
The Sacramento Cottage Project has received and passed all required building inspections and is in its final phase of completion. The Cottage contains eight student dorm rooms with private bathrooms, two commons spaces, two laundry rooms, and office space, and a shared kitchen area. Construction of this $3.7M facility began in September of 2024 and has progressed on time and within the budget. Intended to primarily serve as an independent living and learning space for secondary students, the Sacramento Cottage is a flexible asset to the NMSBVI campus, and it is built to last. The contractor is now completing the final remaining punch list items, cleaning, and preparing the required closeout documents. We are awaiting gas service to be installed by NM Gas Company, and the delivery of furnishings is scheduled for the first week in December. A special thank you to the following entities who have made this project possible: National Construction, Inc. for providing quality and hassle-free construction services; the New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority and the New Mexico Public School Capital Outlay Council for their financial participation; the New Mexico Higher Education Department for their financial participation; and the NMSBVI Board of Regents for their approval and oversight of this project.
PD: photo of construction crane, workers, and fencing around the new buildings.
Saying Goodbye
Congratulations to our: 21 ECP Graduates & Our Alamogordo Preschool Graduate
Heaven Nakai
Cianna Guillen
Melisa Inzunza-Alvarez
Mason Belding
PD: Photo of each graduate wearing NMSBVI blue cap and gown with gold sash and yellow rose under portrait
Back Cover:
THANK YOU!
NMSBVI extends the sincerest of gratitude to all of our staff, students, families, and supporters!
NMSBVI Logo
New Mexico School for the Blind & Visually Impaired
Alamogordo Albuquerque Statewide Outreach
Serving the Children of New Mexico Since 1903!
1-800-437-3505
www.nmsbvi.k12.nm.us