lected about pupil-teacher ratios. An effort was made to classify this information according to some of the following important variables: grade level, type of organizational pattern, type of child served, i.e.; the multiple handicapped, or exclusively the blind and/or partially seeing. The data collected in the study have been compiled so that regional, as well as historical comparisons, can be made. They also have been tabulated according to such other variables as the size and type of school system or administrative unit which administered the special education program. Scope and Procedure Responses were received from representatives of 353 special local public school programs and 54 residential schools. This represents a return of information from 95 percent of the special residential and 95 percent of the local school programs which were known to employ one or more full-time special teachers during the 1962-63 school year to instruct blind and/or partially seeing children. Copies of the questionnaires used in the study appear in appendix A. The following procedure was used to identify local public school systems with special programs for these children as part of a broader Office of Education survey "Statistics of Special Education for Exceptional Children: 1962-63." Superintendents of all school systems in the United States were surveyed to determine if they made ". . . any provisions whatsoever for special education of exceptional children." For purposes of that study exceptional children were defined to include those who are blind or partially seeing. School systems which answered "yes" were sent a detailed questionnaire which contained questions about programs for all types of handicapped and exceptional children. Those which indicated they employed one or more full-time special teachers of blind or partially seeing children were included in the more detailed study reported in this pamphlet. Chapter II. Evolving Organizational Patterns Patterns in Current Use A wide variety of special organizational patterns have been used by local public schools conducting programs for visually handicapped children. The nature and extent of the more important patterns are summarized in this chapter. An indication is given of the number of programs using these patterns during certain periods. Those designed to include combination units for both blind and partially seeing children are identified. Information is presented on the number of full-time special teachers of various types employed during the 1962-63 school year. Summaries are given also about statistics on pupil-teacher ratios and the extent to which pupils living in residential school regularly attended some classes in local public schools. Five basic types of organizational pattern have evolved since the inception of special local school programs for visually handicapped children. Two or more patterns are often used in the same school program. These patterns were defined for purposes of this study as follows: Full-time special class-A specially staffed and equipped room in which blind and/or partially seeing children receive threefourths or more of their formal instruction. Cooperative special class-A specially staffed and equipped room in which blind and/or partially seeing children are enrolled or registered with the special teacher, but receive less than three-fourths of their formal instruction there. The remainder of their school day is spent in regular class rooms. Resource room-A specially staffed and equipped room to which blind and/or partially seeing children who are enrolled or registered in regular classrooms come at scheduled intervals or as the need arises. Itinerant teacher-An organizational pattern whereby blind and/or partially seeing children spend most of their school day in regular classrooms but receive special instruction individually or in small groups from itinerant teachers who travel among two or more schools devoting more than half of their time to the instruction of such children. Teacher-consultant-An organizational pattern whereby special teachers serve as itinerant teachers part of the time but spend 50 percent or more of their time in more general duties, such as consulting with regular school personnel and distributing aids. Number of Programs These basic patterns are arranged below in the rank order of frequency of their use during the 1962-63 school year by the 353 local school programs participating in the study. This information is rendered in the form of percentages in figure 3. Numbers of Teachers Slightly more of the 353 programs reported the use of the itinerant teacher pattern than the use of the resource room pattern; however, the number of resource room teachers employed in local school programs exceeded that of teachers in any other type of pattern, as illustrated in figure 4. A rank order listing of the 1,163 full-time special teachers of visually handicapped children in these programs follows: Visually handicapped children traditionally have been classified and educated as either blind or partially seeing. There is little. agreement either at the local, State, or national level about what constitutes blindness or partial vision for educational purposes although a trend toward functional definitions in service programs is gaining momentum. The questionnaires used in the study did not reliably separate all information reported about blind and partially seeing children. It was possible, however, to classify most of the information about programs and teachers according to the reading 789-078 O-66-3 Note: Numbers do not total 353, nor do percents add to 100% since (Note: many programs reported more than one pattern. (N= number) FIGURE 3.-Number and percent of the 353 special local school programs reporting various types of organizational patterns; United States: 1962–63. and writing media. When instruction was given in reading and writing by means of braille, blind children were considered to be served. A number of programs reported serving "legally" blind |