Florida School for the Deaf & the Blind - Do More. Be More. Achieve More.

Congratulations to Lois Creech! Lois is retiring tomorrow after twenty-one years of service with FSDB! She has worked as a Fiscal Assistant to the Comptroller and is currently Accountant II. She wanted to work at FSDB because she wanted to do something different. FSDB is unique to her because of the caring students and staff she sees daily! One of Lois's favorite FSDB memories was Mr. Hutto asking her to wear her hamburger har and meet the ELC kids. Lois has one daughter, Carrie, twin granddaughters, Madison and Hannah, and one great-granddaughter, Maria, who will turn two this upcoming January. Lois enjoys watching football and rooting for her favorite time, the Jacksonville Jaguars. After retirement, Lois will watch and spend time with her great-granddaughter, Maria, when needed! Happy Retirement! We will miss you! Thank you for everything you have done for FSDB! #ThisIsFSDB #YouBelongAtFSDB #FSDBFam

Welcome Holly Wright! Holly will be an Instructional Assistant working with our Early Learning Center students. She looks forward to helping them grow into their best and brightest selves. Holly is from Nashville, Tennessee and has a cat named Kiyoshi whom she loves! "I'm thrilled to be part of the FSDB community!" shared Holly. And we are thrilled to have you here with us! #ThisisFSDB #FSDBFam #YouBelongAtFSDB

Due to Hurricane Helene, we are suspending our “Takeover Thursday” social media posts today. Everyone, please stay safe, and we look forward to having all of our students back on campus. #FSDBTakeoverThursdays

In 1982, the Blind Department had a spirit week during homecoming week. They played games, parades on the campus, skits show, dressed up for spirit week, and class banners. Source: FSDB 1983 Yearbook. #FSDBWayBackWhensdays

View message in ASL: https://vimeo.com/1012808962 Due to the impending storm, FSDB will cancel classes on Thursday, September 26. The remaining SHOW bus students will go home today (Wednesday) following the regular Friday bus schedule (see routes below). All Yellow Bus and Parent Pick-Up students will go home at 3:30 p.m. today (Wednesday). All after-school activities are canceled for Wednesday and Thursday. Classes are expected to resume on Friday. The following SHOW routes WILL go home on WEDNESDAY, September 25, at 2:05 p.m. • SHOW Route 4 – Orlando • SHOW Route 5 – Homestead • SHOW Route 7 – Titusville • SHOW Route 10 – Sebring • SHOW Route 12 – West Palm Beach • SHOW Route 13 – Dunn Ave./Fernandina Important notes: • As of Wednesday at 2:05 p.m., the Boarding Program is closed to all students for the remainder of the week. • All after-school activities are canceled for Wednesday and Thursday. Please visit our FSDB Alerts page for further updates (www.fsdbk12.org/alerts)

Kramer girls, Brianna, Roslyn, Egypt, and Kiyan are learning how to sew. The materials were provided through Craft Corner, a project funded by the FSDB Advancement Department. #FSDBCampusLifeTuesday

The FSDB Board of Trustees meetings scheduled for Friday, September 27th, have been canceled. The next meeting will be held on Friday, October 25th.

Welcome Brian Tingley-Carr to FSDB! Brian will work as a Behavioral Specialist. He looks forward to connecting and fostering authentic relationships with students, faculty, staff, and communities across Florida. Brian was a beautiful wife, adopted a twelve-year-old daughter, two dogs named Ruby Doo & Ginny Pickles, and a baby boy on the way! A fun fact about Brian is that he did not learn ASL until he was nineteen when he entered his college career at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. Another fun fact is that Brian and his wife were wedded by Elvis in Las Vegas! We are so happy to have you here at FSDB! #ThisisFSDB #FSDBFam #YouBelongAtFSDB

Welcome Laura White to FSDB! Laura will work with the Deaf High School Department as an Instructional Assistant. She looks forward to returning to work with Deaf students and having a fresh start. Laura is originally from St. Augustine and was a former student at FSDB. She has also worked here at FSDB for five years. We are so happy to have you back, Laura! #ThisisFSDB #FSDBFam #YouBelongAtFSDB

FSDB participated in several weather briefings over the last few hours about potential Tropical Cyclone Nine. This system is expected to become a hurricane and could potentially reach the coast as a major hurricane. The leadership team has decided that five SHOW bus students will go home early this week following the regular Friday pick-up bus schedules (see routes below). We understand you may not have bad weather in your area, however, there is concern that the roads might not be safe later in the week because of the storm. We also have to make sure our bus chaperones have enough time to make it back safely to FSDB after dropping off your child. Our thoughts are with every family during this weather event and hope you all stay safe. Further communication regarding classes for the rest of the week will be shared as we learn more about the path and impact of this storm.   The following SHOW routes WILL go home on Tuesday, September 24 at 2:05 p.m. All students on these routes MUST go home. • SHOW Route 1 – Naples • SHOW Route 2 – Pinellas Park • SHOW Route 3 – Pensacola • SHOW Route 8 – Ocala  • SHOW Route 9 – Land O’ Lakes Please visit our FSDB Alerts page for further updates. (www.fsdbk12.org/alerts)

In Deaf Elementary, Third grade was learning about parts of a map, including keys/legends, a compass rose, scales, and grids. #FSDBAcademicMonday

Here's a recap of an exciting and eventful week at FSDB! - Deaf Middle School took a field trip where they got to swim with Manatees. - Cary White Dorm students made sandwiches and took them downtown to help provide food to people experiencing homelessness. - Blind High School had lab day this week. The experiment was "Acid-Base Reflection Lab Abstract." The purpose was to observe the changes that occur when an acid and a base are combined. - Deaf Elementary Third Graders took a field trip to the Alligator Farm. They connected the book they were reading, "Cocoliso," to the actual live Albino Crocodiles! #FSDBRecapSunday

After a successful meet, our enthusiastic swim team gathers for a group photo, beaming with pride. Go, team! #FSDBSportsSaturday #GoDragons #OneTeamOneHeartbeat

Say Hello to Tracie C. Snow, our FSDB President! Tracie started working at FSDB in the fall of 1995. She worked many positions before before working as FSDB President. Listed Below are the positions she worked, from first to current: Classroom teacher for the Deaf Department (High School Special Needs, Middle School & 2nd Grade) Reading Specialist Director of Curriculum and Professional Development Adminstrator of Instructional Services FSDB President Tracie has also worked as Jr. NAD sponsor, Student Concil sponsor, interpreter, Assistant Cross Country Coach, and FSDB's first girls soccer coach! Traice's husband, David Snow, was first hired at FSDB, then she was hired right before school started that fall. "We did not know how lucky we were to start our career journey here" shared Tracie. She shared that FSDB is unique because we are the only school of our kind in Florida, and the largest school in the nation serving both students who are deaf/hard of hearing, blind/visually impaired, and deafblind. "The students, staff, and families make us unique and special" stated Tracie. Tracie has thirty years worth of memories at FSDB, which makes it challenging to choose one. She has loved her time as a teacher, coach, leader, co-worker, and parent. When Tracie is not at work, she loves spending time with her family, cooking, gardening, and crafting. She also wanted to share that her favorite color is Glitter! FSDB loves you, Tracie!   #ThisIsFSDB #YouBelongAtFSDB #FSDBFam #GrowingUpAtFSDBFridays

Welcome Derek Ferguson! Derek will be working as a Blind Middle School Social Studies teacher! Previously, before working at FSDB, he was a Social Studies Instructor (A.P. Human Geography and World History) at Celebration High School and a Social Studies Instructor (A.P. Modern World History, Dual Enrollment U.S. History, Rhokappa founder and advisor) at St. Joesph Academy. "I am most excited about giving back to a school community that empowered me for success and inspiring fellow students with visual disabilities to do more, be more and achieve more." shared Derek. Derek was born in Sarasota, Florida and lived in Homosassa, Florida, through 6th grade. He then moved to Saint Augustine so he could attend FSDB. Derek's twin brother also attended FSDB, and his mother worked at the school. Some fun facts about Derek: - He lived in France for one summer and enjoyed trying new restaurants. - He is a licensed tour guide in Saint Augustine. - He is an active liturgical minister in the local community. He finds fulfillment in serving others. Welcome back to FSDB! We are so happy to have you here! #FSDBFam #ThisIsFSDB #YouBelongAtFSDB

Please welcome Dale Kinnaman to FSDB! Dale will be working as a maintenance mechanic, mainly doing painting jobs. "I look forward to working on these historic and amazing grounds at FSDB," shared Dale. A fun fact about Dale is that he laughs at his own jokes. Welcome to the FSDB Family!! #ThisisFSDB #FSDBFam #YouBelongAtFSDB

Today, our Deaf Elementary School Assistant Principal, Jessica Waldbillig, is taking over our social media. Check out our stories to see a day in the life of our DES Assistant Principal! #FSDBTakeOverThursdays

Then & Now: Top Photo taken in the 1980's Bottom Photo taken in 2020 Shows the changes that took place over the years. Credit goes to Jamie McElfresh, Museum Staff. #FSDBHistory #FSDBWayBackWhensday

Welcome Daniel Villa to FSDB! Daniel will be working with the Rhyne Hall High School Deaf Boys. He is looking forward to being back at FSDB and working with the fantastic campus staff! Some fun facts about him are that he loves hiking, outdoor activities, gaming, and sports. We are so happy to have you here at FSDB with us! #ThisisFSDB #FSDBFam #YouBelongAtFSDB

Our FSDB Elementary Dance Program is in full swing! #FSDBCampusLifeTuesdays