2014 Iowa Braille Challenge brings smiles, results

The 2014 Iowa Braille Challenge took place on Saturday, February 8th at the Iowa Department for the Blind (IDB) in Des Moines. Co-sponsored by Iowa Educational Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired [1] (formerly the Iowa Braille School), this was the fifth year for the Challenge to be held at IDB. Contestants came from all over the state despite the morning snowstorm, making this year's event one of the best attended. Twenty students were present on Saturday at IDB for testing and three others had arranged to take the tests with their teachers of the visually impaired (TVI's). Significantly, seven of these students were new to the Iowa Braille Challenge and three of them were starters in the Apprentice category. Iowa's Braille Challenge is one of many around the country in which students compete--hoping to qualify for the National Braille Challenge [2] in Los Angeles next summer at the Braille Institute of America [3].

So many students with their families and supporters, along with all the volunteers working the event, made for a lively scene throughout the building. A morning pep rally in the Assembly Room recognized all those taking part, promoted the importance of Braille literacy, and featured a keynote address by 2013 Braille Institute Teacher of the Year Chistine Short, a teacher of the visually impaired for Heartland Area Education Agency in Region 2. Chris’s accomplishments are well summed up in this excellent video that was shown during the assembly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M0lFiO0M68&list=PLC24977669A9BB73F&index=6 [4]

After the tests were taken by the students, the results were tallied, and the standings were announced at the afternoon awards ceremony. Here are the final results:

Rookie Group:

1. Jordan Danks

Apprentice Group:

1. Zachary Nolin
2. Emily Groves
3. Brady Jorgensen

Freshman Group:

1. Brogan Malcolm
2. Lydia Groenendyk
3. Angela Wittrock

Sophomore Group:

1. Emily Brown
2. Shae Cleveland
3. Kadyn Haggard

Junior Varsity Group:

1. Alyssa Townsend
2. Mason Armstrong
3. Emily Boehm

Varsity Group:

1. Annabelle Costanzo
2. Beth Rouse
3. Kristen Steele

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the 2014 Iowa Braille Challenge!