Halifax School for the Blind

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.[1] The first superintendent of the school (1873-1923)[2] was Sir Frederick Fraser who was himself visually impaired and had studied at the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston.[3]

Sir Charles Frederick Fraser in Evening Mail, Toronto 1918
Halifax School For The Blind Monument, University Ave., Halifax, Nova Scotia

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.[4]

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.[2]

Notable students

References
  1. Joanna L. Pearce, Fighting in the Dark: Charles Frederick Fraser and the Halifax Asylum for the Blind, 1850-1915
  2. APSEA - About Us Accessed 26 January 2021
  3. Sir Frederick Fraser, Dictionary of Canadian Biography
  4. Mercer, Robert (November 12, 2012). "A former student recalls School for the Blind". Chronicle Herald. Halifax Herald Limited. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  5. Arthur A. Chisholm, Dictionary of Canadian Biography

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