VISTAS Education Partners Inc

08/14/2026

Our second stop in the Series takes us to Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ!

Visitors who are blind or have low vision can experience the grounds through Touch Tours, which provide a tactile way to explore selected sculptures and the surrounding environment. Touch Tours should be arranged in advance by phone or email.

Grounds For Sculpture also offers wheelchair and Electric Convenience Vehicle (ECV) rentals, and personal care aides receive free admission. Service animals are always welcome.

Learn more about accessibility and plan your visit: bit.ly/SculptureAccess

Visitors can call (609) 586-0616 to speak with a Guest Services staff member or email them at: [email protected]

Do you know of a New Jersey location we should include in our Series? Comment below!

07/27/2026

Introducing our Series!

This summer, we’re exploring parks, playgrounds, trails, beaches, and other sites across New Jersey that are working to make visitor experiences more accessible and inclusive. Our goal is to share information that helps families and educators discover new places to explore in the Garden State!

We’re kicking off the series all the way down at Exit 0. During a recent family trip to Cape May, our TVI, Sarah Scapardine, explored the Braille Trail at the Garrett Family Preserve, part of The Nature Conservancy.

The half-mile trail features a guide rope, braille signage, and an immersive audio tour, offering visitors multiple ways to engage with the natural environment.

Visitors to Cape May can also enjoy an ADA-accessible beach mat that stretches more than a mile along the shoreline, from the Cove to Convention Hall. Beach and surf wheelchairs are also available to reserve for free during the summer months.

Do you know of a place we should include in our Series? Let us know in the comments!

07/13/2026

Disabled people make up 25% of the population—the largest minority group in the world.

Have you considered that disability is the only marginalized community that you can become part of at any point in your life?

A person can become disabled through illness, injury, aging, chronic disease, mental health conditions, or other unexpected life events. Because of this, disability is a universal human issue rather than a niche one. Disability is not a fixed identity belonging to a small group of people. It's a normal part of the human experience that already affects 1 in 4 adults, and could affect any of us tomorrow. Disability can happen to anyone—and often does as people age. Creating accessible schools, workplaces, products, and public spaces ultimately benefits everyone. Therefore, accessibility and inclusion are investments in everyone's future, not accommodations for someone else.

07/10/2026

Summer mode is in full effect, and next school year might be the last thing on your mind... But, you will definitely want to save this important fall date!

Mark your calendars for the 2026 New Jersey Regional Abacus Bee:
𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟰 𝗮𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆

Registration opens in August. More details coming soon!

Flyer Transcript: bit.ly/abacus26

07/02/2026

Summer brings both a fond farewell and exciting congratulations as we say goodbye to our friends, Brianna and Braden.

Since moving to New Jersey seven years ago, Brianna has been an invaluable part of the VISTAS community. As a founding member of our National Homework Hotline for Blind and Visually Impaired Students and a longtime volunteer with the NJ Regional Braille Challenge, Brianna has made a lasting impact.

Braden, currently pursuing TVI certification, has also generously volunteered with VISTAS since moving to New Jersey.

We are deeply grateful for everything Brianna and Braden have done to support blind and low vision students. While we will miss them both, we are thrilled to congratulate Brianna on her new role as Director of the Iowa Orientation Center for the Blind. We know she will continue making a difference in this exciting new chapter.

Best wishes to Brianna and Braden on their new beginnings!

07/02/2026

Wishing a happy to the VISTAS community! 🦯

We're so excited to kick off with our community! 🎉

Because we're better together - and the world is better with us in it.

We'll be celebrating all month long. Join us!

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Image: A "swoosh" with the colors of the disability pride flag with a hand holding a white cane emerging from it. Text: "Let's celebrate Disability Pride!"

Colors of the disability pride flag:

Red for physical disabilities

Gold for neurodiversity

White for non-apparent and undiagnosed disabilities

Blue for psychiatric and emotional disabilities

Green for sensory disabilities

05/21/2026

Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is a reminder that accessibility is not an add-on. It’s essential.

For students who are blind or have low vision, accessible technology can open doors to literacy, communication, education, employment, and connection. But accessibility only works when it is considered from the start.

At VISTAS Education Partners, we believe all students deserve access to digital spaces that are usable, inclusive, and designed with a wide range of learners in mind. From screen reader compatibility to accessible educational materials, thoughtful design helps students participate fully and independently.

This GAAD, we encourage educators, families, and organizations to take a closer look at the digital tools they use every day:

• Can all students access the information independently?

• Are materials compatible with assistive technology?

• Are accessibility features built in—not added later?

Awareness is a starting point. Action creates access.

05/20/2026

We’re thrilled to congratulate Savaas Iqbal, a Mountain Lakes Public Library Makerspace alum, and the Cornell Assistive Technologies team on earning 2nd place in the RESNA Student Design Challenge!

Sav and his teammates have been doing important work transforming tactile coding blocks into accessible learning tools that can reach more students. Their projects included collaborating with Micro:Bit MakeCode to create tactile programming blocks and working with OctoStudio, an accessible next-generation Scratch-style programming platform, to support both digital and physical accessibility.

What makes this accomplishment even more impressive is that the team achieved these ambitious goals while balancing the demands of rigorous coursework at Cornell University.

We are also excited to celebrate Sav’s election as Co-Team Lead for the entire Cornell Assistive Technologies Group next year. His leadership and commitment to accessible innovation continue to make a meaningful impact.

At VISTAS Education Partners, we’ve had the privilege of collaborating with Mountain Lakes Public Library Makerspace on accessible designs for blind and low vision students for several years, and it’s inspiring to see alumni carrying that mission forward in such powerful ways.

Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society (RESNA)

Photo: Savaas and the Cornell Assistive Technologies team pose smiling beside a sign for the RESNA Student Design Challenge. Illustration of a silver second place trophy. Text reads: Tactile Coding Blocks: A tactile tool to help visually impaired students learn computer science

05/18/2026

Congratulations to each of the 2026 Braille Challenge Finalists! New Jersey is cheering you on 🎉

The wait is over—meet our 2026 Braille Challenge Finalists!

2026 has been a record-breaking year for international participation. This year, we had participants from six different countries: Australia, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Our finalists earned the top scores out of over 2,000 total competitors across the globe.

Congratulations, Finalists! We can’t wait for you to join us at Finals next month.

Find the list of Finalists on our website here: https://bit.ly/4whBL3M

Image Description: Graphic featuring a celebratory colorful confetti background and the headline "Meet our 2026 Braille Challenge Finalists!" above the Braille Institute logo.

05/11/2026

What if one of the most powerful tools for building math fluency, reasoning, and independence has been around for centuries?

If you’re a parent or educator who wants to uncover why the Cranmer abacus remains an essential literacy and access tool in math education for blind and low vision students, you won’t want to miss this recorded presentation.

Participants will learn how abacus instruction supports number sense, working memory, problem-solving, and the development of mental math skills—not just fast calculation.

Presented by American Printing House for the Blind, this session takes a closer look at Abacus Bee competitions and how their problem formats are designed to measure authentic mathematical thinking rather than rote memorization or speed alone.

3 likes. "Abacus and Mental Math: Why It Matters"