Clarke Hosts Fifth Annual Braille Challenge

Visually impaired students from all over the state of New York attended the fifth annual Regional Braille Challenge at on Feb. 4.

Local students that were involved included Alex Calderon, who's a senior at Clarke, Michael Taylor, who's a seventh grader at and Daniel Castro, who also attends Woodland.

Christine Castro, Daniel’s mother, who is a teacher at Woodland Middle School, told the East Meadow Herald that her son has X-linked juvenile retinoschisis, and his vision will continue to worsen until he reaches age 15.

“We pray that he doesn’t completely lose his vision,” Christine said. “He’s worried about what is going to happen to him.”

Petra Tarrant, a teacher for students with visual impairments in the East Meadow School District, said that 29 students from all over New York State attended the event. Students were tested on reading comprehension, speed and accuracy, proofreading, charts and graphs. Each test was 25 minutes long.

For more on this story from the East Meadow Herald, click here.