The Halifax School for the Blind opened on Morris Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia as the Halifax Asylum for the Blind in 1871, the first residential school for the blind in Canada.Joanna L. Pearce, Fighting in the Dark: Charles Frederick Fraser and the Halifax Asylum for the Blind, 1850-1915 The first superintendent of the school (1873-1923)APSEA - About Us Accessed 26 January 2021 was Sir Frederick Fraser who was himself visually impaired and had studied at the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston.Sir Frederick Fraser, Dictionary of Canadian Biography
A private school for the first century of its existence, in 1975 the school became a public institution under the newly created Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority (APSEA), and it provided free education to pupils from throughout Atlantic Canada.
The school closed in 1983 and was replaced by a new school some blocks away, named Sir Frederick Fraser School for the Blind in memory of the founder. A memorial plaque was placed near the site of the old school in 2012.
The Halifax School for the Deaf was established earlier in 1856. The two schools were consolidated at the APSEA Centre on South Street in 1994-1995.
Notable students Arthur A. ChisholmArthur A. Chisholm, Dictionary of Canadian Biography Vivian Berkeley Eric Davidson Terry Kelly Fred McKenna
Notable teachers Elizabeth Roberts MacDonald
References
External links and further reading
Annual Report. 1939 School for the Blind Image, Notman Studio Frederick Fraser: What we do for the Blind, Toronto Star, 1918 Shirley Trites. "Reading Hands: The Halifax School for the Blind". 2003 Nova Scotia Archives, Halifax School for the Blind fonds (Contains Halifax Explosion 1917 eye injury records)