The Blind Advantage: How Going Blind Made Me a Stronger Principal and How Including Children with Disabilities Made Our School Better for E

The Blind Advantage provides insight into the challenges, possibilities, and practicalities of including students with disabilities--and into the mind and heart of an inspired and determined leader.

"You should get out of education."

That was the advice first-year teacher Bill Henderson received when he discovered he was gradually losing his vision. Instead, Henderson persevered and became principal of the Patrick O'Hearn Elementary School in Boston, an ethnically and economically diverse school where about a third of the students have mild, moderate, or significant disabilities.

In The Blind Advantage, Henderson describes how the journey into blindness helped him develop key qualities--determination, vision, sensitivity, organization, collaboration, and humor--that made him a more effective principal. At the same time, he shows how the inclusionary policies and practices at the O'Hearn School (now renamed the William W. Henderson Inclusion Elementary School) elicited and developed these qualities in others.

An audio version of this book is available for purchase. This audio version was created in collaboration with the Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library.


About the Author
Bill Henderson was an educator in the Boston Public Schools for thirty-six years. He started in 1973 as a middle-school teacher and later served as a staff trainer and curriculum developer before becoming an assistant principal at a K-8 school. In 1989, Bill was appointed principal of the Patrick O'Hearn Elementary School with a mandate to include students with significant disabilities, and he remained its leader for twenty years. The school gained widespread recognition for inclusion, academic progress, the arts, technology, and family involvement.

Bill earned a BA from Yale University, an MA from Goddard College, and an EdD from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Upon his retirement from the Boston Public Schools in June 2009, the O'Hearn was renamed the Dr. William W. Henderson Inclusion Elementary School. Bill continues to advocate for inclusion through consulting and by presenting at universities and conferences. He also enjoys spending time with friends and family, especially with his grandchildren.

Readers can contact Bill Henderson by e-mail at whenderson50@comcast.net.