The W. Ross Macdonald School was founded in March 1872 in
Brantford, Ontario
Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independ ...
, Canada. Its first principal was
Ezekiel Stone Wiggins.
It provides instruction from kindergarten to secondary school graduation for
blind and
deafblind students.
W. Ross Macdonald is the only school in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
for blind and deafblind students and the only such school in Canada serving academic students. It draws students from across Ontario and other provinces and has residences to accommodate those that do not live in the local area. Placement at W. Ross Macdonald is a decision made by students, parents and their local school board, when it is decided that such an environment would be the best option at that time. In addition to their own students, the school provides services to District School Boards for students who are blind or Deafblind through Short Term Programs and Vision and Deafblind Resource Consultants. All services are provided free of charge for both parents and school boards.
The school was originally named the ''Ontario Institution for the Education of the Blind'' when it opened in 1872, and later called the ''Ontario School for the Blind''. It was given its current name in 1974 in honour of Brantford citizen
William Ross Macdonald
William Ross Macdonald (December 25, 1891 – May 28, 1976), served as the 21st Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1968 to 1974, and as 22nd Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from 1949 to 1953.
Early life
Macdonald was born in ...
, who served as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1968 to 1974.
Students receive instruction in all areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum, according to individual student need. This instruction is supported by student support staff after school for those students who reside at the school from Monday to Friday. All students return home each weekend. Day programming starts at Junior Kindergarten, with accommodation offered on campus for students when it is deemed they have maturity to benefit.
The school's motto is "The Impossible is only the Untried".
Special features
In recent years, a concerted effort has been made to provide landmarks in the physical layout of the newer buildings, to aid students in navigation. A variety of materials and textures are used in the building floors and walls to allow for more efficient orientation. The classroom windows are above eye-level of the students in order to provide indirect light because students with a vision impairment can find direct lighting difficult. Artificial lighting uses special lights with dimmer switch. As well, student lockers are larger than conventional school lockers and include seating.
Superintendents
*
Ezekiel Stone Wiggins (1872)
*J.H. Hunter (1874)
*A.H. Dymond (1881)
*H.F. Gardiner (1903)
*C.W. James (1916)
*W.B. Race (1917)
*W.H. Little (1933)
*H.J. Vallentyne (1935)
*S.E. Armstrong (1956)
*G.C. Whetstone (1972)
*David A. Neill (1977)
*Clive. J. Hodder (1991)
*Nancy Sanders (2006)
*Kevin Cutler (2010)
*Suzanne Moffat (2013)
*Ginette Faubert (2015)
Notable alumni
*
Molly Burke
Molly Jane Lucy Burke (born February 8, 1994) is a Canadian YouTube personality and motivational speaker whose eponymous channel has nearly 2 million subscribers. Burke was diagnosed at age four with retinitis pigmentosa, a condition which cause ...
*
Priscilla Gagné
*
Jeff Healey
Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz singer, guitarist, and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " Ang ...
*
William Morgan
*
W.G. Raymond
*
Timothy McIsaac
Timothy "Tim" McIsaac (born 10 January 1959) is a retired Canadian Paralympic swimmer, who was born blind. He was one of the first blind swimmers to do a tumble turn in an international competition. He began swimming at the Ross MacDonald Schoo ...
References
External links
W. Ross Macdonald School
{{Schools for the deaf
Schools for the blind in Canada
Schools for the deaf in Canada
Elementary schools in Brantford
High schools in Brantford