Perkins School for the Blind
Perkins School for the Blind Headquarters Location
Watertown, MA
Perkins School for the Blind Photos
About Perkins School for the Blind
We are the worldwide leader in education services for children and young adults who are blind and visually impaired with multiple disabilities. An international NGO, we are infinitely innovating to solve longstanding and emerging problems facing our communities, our students and our families.
About UsAt Perkins, we provide unparalleled educational services to children and young adults with blindness, deafblindness and multiple disabilities. We also share our expertise and collaborate with global changemakers in the fields of education, business, medicine and policy. This work informs our purpose to prepare our students for the world and the world for our students.
We are ever evolving. In addition to educating children on our historic campus in Watertown, Massachusetts, we are constantly creating and delivering new programs that address the most pressing challenges to our population. This agility enables us to maximize our impact on campus, across the U.S. and around the world.
As a nonprofit, we are funded in no small part by generous support from those who share our driving belief that all children can learn. Perkins is built on that belief and with continued support, it informs everything we do.
Core ValuesWe are ever evolving. In addition to educating children on our historic campus in Watertown, Massachusetts, we are constantly creating and delivering new programs that address the most pressing challenges to our population. This agility enables us to maximize our impact on campus, across the U.S. and around the world.
As a nonprofit, we are funded in no small part by generous support from those who share our driving belief that all children can learn. Perkins is built on that belief and with continued support, it informs everything we do.
Our Catalysts for Growth
As an organization, we encourage our employees to:
Think Courageously: Pave the way for change. Be creative, curious & resilient. Challenge yourself to try, fail and try again. Think big and embrace unconventional approaches.
Take Ownership: Don’t wait, initiate. Invest fully in your work. Own your choices. Deliver results. Have a bias for action and a dedication to quality.
Be Collaborative: Create a diverse and inclusive community. Foster positive relationships. Communicate openly & respectfully. Build trust and operate with integrity. Be willing to disagree, commit and keep moving.
Across all departments, these actions are fundamental in helping Perkins achieve its mission of building a world where people with complex disabilities and visual impairments can learn and thrive. If these sound like you, we encourage you to consider a career at Perkins.
Area of FocusAs an organization, we encourage our employees to:
Think Courageously: Pave the way for change. Be creative, curious & resilient. Challenge yourself to try, fail and try again. Think big and embrace unconventional approaches.
Take Ownership: Don’t wait, initiate. Invest fully in your work. Own your choices. Deliver results. Have a bias for action and a dedication to quality.
Be Collaborative: Create a diverse and inclusive community. Foster positive relationships. Communicate openly & respectfully. Build trust and operate with integrity. Be willing to disagree, commit and keep moving.
Across all departments, these actions are fundamental in helping Perkins achieve its mission of building a world where people with complex disabilities and visual impairments can learn and thrive. If these sound like you, we encourage you to consider a career at Perkins.
Areas of Focus
Perkins consists of four distinct lines of business that collaborate on local, national and global levels that work together every day to change what it means to be blind.
Perkins School for the Blind
Perkins School for the Blind teaches children on campus and supports students and teachers in public schools across the U.S., focusing on academic, social and self-advocacy skill building. Every year, Perkins educates approximately 200 students on campus and supports 1,200 more in community programs, including in the Infant-Toddler Program, through educational partnerships with public schools and outreach programs. We also emphasize transition services to prepare young adults with vision loss for life after school.
Perkins International
Perkins International works to reach the most vulnerable children in some of the poorest places in the world. There are millions of children with visual impairment and multiple disabilities (MDVI) around the world who don’t receive the quality education they deserve. Perkins International works to put these children in school, equip educators with specialized skills they need to teach them and connect families with vital governmental and medical resources. We are expanding our work in certain countries – such as India, which has as many as 1 million children with visual impairment and additional disabilities – where we seek to improve screening and assessment, early intervention programs, school-age education and family support services.
Perkins Solutions
Perkins Solutions deploys technology to overcome longstanding and emerging accessibility barriers. Since the 1950s, we’ve manufactured and distributed the world’s most popular, most dependable braille typewriter. In keeping with our tradition of staying ahead of technology to ensure people who are blind or visually impaired have what they need to realize their full potential, we now offer digital accessibility consulting through Perkins Access. These services assist clients in ensuring digital experiences are usable by everyone, and that the online world is fully open to everyone.
Perkins Library
The Perkins Library has provided accessible reading material to people with visual impairment and other disabilities since 1837. Since then, we’ve significantly expanded our offerings to serve more people with more nuanced needs. Today, we distribute more than half a million accessible books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs and more, at no cost to the estimated 28,000 patrons we serve annually. We’ve also led the charge in distributing assistive technologies like refreshable braille displays while providing a website that enables people to download accessible reading material.
Who We ArePerkins consists of four distinct lines of business that collaborate on local, national and global levels that work together every day to change what it means to be blind.
Perkins School for the Blind
Perkins School for the Blind teaches children on campus and supports students and teachers in public schools across the U.S., focusing on academic, social and self-advocacy skill building. Every year, Perkins educates approximately 200 students on campus and supports 1,200 more in community programs, including in the Infant-Toddler Program, through educational partnerships with public schools and outreach programs. We also emphasize transition services to prepare young adults with vision loss for life after school.
Perkins International
Perkins International works to reach the most vulnerable children in some of the poorest places in the world. There are millions of children with visual impairment and multiple disabilities (MDVI) around the world who don’t receive the quality education they deserve. Perkins International works to put these children in school, equip educators with specialized skills they need to teach them and connect families with vital governmental and medical resources. We are expanding our work in certain countries – such as India, which has as many as 1 million children with visual impairment and additional disabilities – where we seek to improve screening and assessment, early intervention programs, school-age education and family support services.
Perkins Solutions
Perkins Solutions deploys technology to overcome longstanding and emerging accessibility barriers. Since the 1950s, we’ve manufactured and distributed the world’s most popular, most dependable braille typewriter. In keeping with our tradition of staying ahead of technology to ensure people who are blind or visually impaired have what they need to realize their full potential, we now offer digital accessibility consulting through Perkins Access. These services assist clients in ensuring digital experiences are usable by everyone, and that the online world is fully open to everyone.
Perkins Library
The Perkins Library has provided accessible reading material to people with visual impairment and other disabilities since 1837. Since then, we’ve significantly expanded our offerings to serve more people with more nuanced needs. Today, we distribute more than half a million accessible books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs and more, at no cost to the estimated 28,000 patrons we serve annually. We’ve also led the charge in distributing assistive technologies like refreshable braille displays while providing a website that enables people to download accessible reading material.
Employees share their thoughts about what makes Perkins special, from their work on the Watertown, MA campus to around the world.
Number of Employees in Perkins School for the Blind
501 to 1,000
Perkins School for the Blind Revenue
£18m to £73m (GBP)
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