Hi AER Colleagues, I hope that your week is off to a good start. These are challenging times in so many ways. I know you are each spread thin and I know the families and children you work with are as well. I don’t want to do another ask, but I am. This is an important ask. We have the second Access and Engagement study open through November 22. If you are a TVI or O&M working with children please take 30 minutes or so to complete the survey. Please also reach out to your families and ask them to do the same. Maybe even offer to watch the kids or loan them a device if they’re not online. Or, call and read them the questions and enter their data. We really want to hear from all families, not just those with easy access to the internet. The email below talks about the survey, the report we published, the blog post that we just published today on how to use the report to improve education for our students, and a free town hall on Tuesday. Please share it widely. I’ve attached a flyer about the survey as well to this email. Thank you for all you each are doing for those with visual impairments. Penny ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: *American Foundation for the Blind* <communications@afb.org> Date: Thu, Nov 5, 2020 at 1:44 PM Subject: COVID-19’s Impact on Education of Visually Impaired Children: You Can Help *[image: AFB. American Foundation for the Blind. Expanding possibilities for people with vision loss.]* [image: A school-age Black girl examines a variety of seeds on a plate while her science teacher and teaching assistant present a Zoom lesson. A school-age Multiracial boy sits in an adapted chair with a female adult sitting behind him. They are joined in an online meeting. An augmentative communication device sits to the left of the boy.] *Let's Work Together to Ensure Accessible, Engaging, and Inclusive Education for Children with Visual Impairments* The second Access and Engagement study <https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=25fdc459cf&e=ffd2030d24> opened on October 30 and closes on November 22. We want all family members, guardians, teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs), and orientation & mobility (O&M) specialists in the U.S. and Canada to have the opportunity to share their experiences about education this fall. The survey takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. If you qualify, please consider taking it and inviting a family you know to take it too. Tell them why you think this survey is important. The first Access and Engagement study <https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=736663c006&e=ffd2030d24> report is available for free download. In addition to the full report as an accessible PDF, there is also an accessible PDF of the Executive Summary. Everything is also online by section, so if you want to point someone to a specific section you can do so. Each section of the report has recommendations. Speaking of recommendations, Dr. L. Penny Rosenblum, the lead author of the report, has put together a blog post on how you can use the first Access and Engagement report to advocate for students with visual impairments <https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=c81e7303a8&e=ffd2030d24>. If we all come together, we can have a stronger impact on administrators, policymakers, technology companies, and others. The findings and recommendations in the first Access and Engagement report allow you to pair your own experience with data about 455 children and 1,028 professionals. That’s a lot of voices! Finally, do you know about AFB’s Town Hall on November 10 from 2:00-3:00 PM Eastern? The topic is Education Across the Lifespan. This is an opportunity to ask your questions and share your comments. The first three authors of the Access and Engagement report, Dr. Rosenblum, Dr. Herzberg, and Dr. Wild will be responding to questions and comments. It’s free to sign up <https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=e9e06b37d8&e=ffd2030d24>, so please plan to join us. On social media use *#AccessEngagement* to share how you are using the report, encourage others to complete the second survey, or ask your questions. You can also email access_report@afb.org <access_report@afb.org?subject=Access%20and%20Engagement%20Study>. We want to hear from you! Thank you, AFB Communications communications@afb.org <communications@afb.org?subject=Access%20and%20Engagement%20Study> This email was sent to jmackin@afb.net *why did I get this?* <https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/about?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=ec813cd965&e=ffd2030d24&c=cd64f2ecc8> unsubscribe from this list <https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=ec813cd965&e=ffd2030d24&c=cd64f2ecc8> update subscription preferences <https://afb.us11.list-manage.com/profile?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=ec813cd965&e=ffd2030d24> American Foundation for the Blind · 1401 South Clark Street · Suite 730 · Arlington, Virginia 22202 · USA -- John D. Mackin Manager, Public Relations American Foundation for the Blind Phone: (212) 502-7627 jmackin@afb.org www.afb.org We're creating a future of *no limits*. Join us at www.afb.org/nolimits