{"id":3624,"date":"2024-05-21T13:44:33","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T13:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/?p=3624"},"modified":"2026-01-28T21:12:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T21:12:55","slug":"turning-obstacles-into-opportunities-the-story-of-jose-nieves-roman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/turning-obstacles-into-opportunities-the-story-of-jose-nieves-roman\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning Obstacles into Opportunities: The Story of Jos\u00e9 Nieves Roman"},"content":{"rendered":"

We thank Catherine Ragozzino, Multilingual Instructional Coach for Secondary Schools at Meriden Public Schools, for sharing Jos\u00e9\u2019s inspiring story with us.<\/em><\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 Nieves Roman was born in Isabella, Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n

He has been legally blind since birth.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Finding Language: Jos\u00e9’s Path to Bilingualism<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"JoseJos\u00e9 came to the mainland United States when he was five years old, in February of 2012.\u00a0 After a few months at another school, he entered Meriden Public Schools and was identified as a native Spanish-speaking English Learner.\u00a0 He solely spoke Spanish.\u00a0 The school hired a bilingual Spanish-speaking tutor to help him begin learning Braille.\u00a0 This tutor accompanied Jos\u00e9 to all his classes throughout the day.\u00a0 During these primary years, Jos\u00e9\u2019s residential circumstances fluctuated, and he moved back and forth between schools and couldn\u2019t receive consistent Braille instruction. When he returned to Meriden in 4th grade and stayed, he had consistency with Braille instruction and language support, and his skills grew deftly once there was consistency.<\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 quickly acquired English while working in our schools.\u00a0 He participated in the language support program, and in 2021, he demonstrated English skills sufficient to exit the program.<\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 speaks both English and Spanish at home with his family and friends, while some family members speak predominantly Spanish.<\/p>\n

Embracing Adventure: Jos\u00e9’s Fearless Pursuits<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Jos\u00e9 is artistic, friendly, outgoing, and fearless.\u00a0 Being a visually impaired young man has never presented itself as a limitation for Jos\u00e9.\u00a0 With the support of some incredible educators with a lot of creativity and imagination, Jos\u00e9 seeks adventure.\u00a0 He enjoys swimming, soccer, music, and he likes to read. Jos\u00e9 has been in an outdoor adventure class, and he participated in activities with slight adaptations for his visual impairment needs, like archery, wall climbing, swimming, surfing, and kayaking.\u00a0 He even completed a 7.3-mile hike, and learned to independently pilot a canoe.\u00a0 Jos\u00e9 also participated in Meriden\u2019s Unified Soccer Team, in which they use a ball that makes a noise due to a sound system located inside that helps players orient themselves, and Unified Track where athletes run with a visually able runner.<\/p>\n

In Middle School, Jos\u00e9 played the drums in the Marching Band. He marched in Meriden\u2019s Daffodil Festival parade. \u00a0<\/strong>Recently, Jos\u00e9 participated in a fishing tournament hosted by the Lions Club in Berlin, Connecticut for visually impaired students.<\/p>\n

\"Jose<\/p>\n

Artistry Beyond Sight: Jos\u00e9’s Creative Achievements<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Jos\u00e9 has been an artist for years.\u00a0 He has been on the local news twice for two separate pieces of art; one was a lion made out of yarn, and the other was a sailboat painting for the Connecticut Scholastic Arts Awards for which he earned the Silver Key award (see the article and video here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

A Vision of Possibility: Jos\u00e9’s Inspiring Outlook<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When asked what he would like to share about being a student, artist and athlete who also has a visual impairment, Jos\u00e9 said, \u201cI consider myself a student who is willing to go as far as possible to go out and do what I want to do.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9\u2019s goals are to increase access for all visually impaired kids to show their skills on assessments like the AAPPL. He said, \u201cI know I\u2019m probably not the only one who wants to do something like this, but it\u2019s not accessible to them, you know what I mean? I feel like the main lesson for other visually impaired students is if I can do this, they can too! I\u2019ve never been afraid to try stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 was approached by the district\u2019s Specialist for Supporting the Visually Impaired to help another visually impaired student master a portable electronic Braille device called the BrailleNote Touch.\u00a0 Jos\u00e9 reported, \u201cI did way better than I thought I would at teaching her. It just goes to show that despite thinking that you can’t do something, you can.\u00a0 Like with the AAPPL test at first, when I signed up to take the test, I wasn\u2019t really sure I would make it, but then I just started to go into my Spanish class with a different perspective, thinking if I can focus fully on Spanish now, then I can do well on the test.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond High School: Jos\u00e9’s Ambitious Goals <\/strong><\/h3>\n

About his post-high school plans, Jos\u00e9 shared, \u201cAfter high school I want to go to college.\u00a0 I am thinking of becoming a criminal lawyer.\u00a0 My dad and I did research that I would be one of the few visually impaired lawyers out there.\u00a0 There are some, but there aren\u2019t many. I could also be an interpreter in courtrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI aspire to get as far as I can in life.\u00a0 Honestly, for me, I know that in certain things I have limits. T<\/em>hat <\/em>I accept, but as far as learning, I can do anything.\u00a0 I take AP classes; and at this point I feel like I\u2019ve gone beyond what I previously thought was a limit for me.\u00a0 So, I know I can do more.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Power of Bilingualism: Jos\u00e9’s Connection to Heritage<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Being bilingual is important to Jos\u00e9.\u00a0 He grew up speaking Spanish with his family and friends, but has continued his study of the language by taking Spanish World Language classes at the middle and high schools so he can further his academic language skills and expand his knowledge of more sophisticated vocabulary in Spanish.\u00a0 His Spanish textbook is completely in Braille, and his Braille tutor accompanies him to class in which he types all required written work on his Braille writer, which the tutor translates to submit work to the teacher.<\/p>\n

On the topic of why bilingualism is important to Jos\u00e9, he stated, \u201cI feel a connection with my heritage because speaking Spanish helped me figure out who I was and what my limits were in life, in school, in sports, and in art.\u00a0 It helps me have a connection with students here [at school] and also a bigger deeper connection with my family.\u00a0 There are some [newcomer] students here who only speak Spanish and I am able to help them. If you only know one language, there\u2019s only so much you can do to help people. \u00a0But if you are bilingual, you can help twice as many people.\u00a0 And Connecticut is a good spot to know Spanish, because everywhere you go you run into people who speak Spanish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sealing Success: Jos\u00e9’s Triumph in the AAPPL<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the Spring of 2024, Jos\u00e9 sat for the AAPPL to qualify for the Connecticut Seal of Biliteracy. His school administration worked with the LTI\u2019s accommodations team to ensure Jos\u00e9 was able to complete the test. He completed the speaking and listening sections with a test administrator’s aid who helped him transition from prompt to prompt. Jos\u00e9 used his Brailler for writing, with a tutor transcribing exactly what he typed, including any errors, and sending the typed versions to LTI. The reading section was waived upon approval from the state.<\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 qualified for the Connecticut State Seal of Biliteracy.<\/p>\n

Accessibility for All: LTI’s Commitment to Inclusive Testing<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Jos\u00e9 was the first visually impaired student who sat for the AAPPL and was able to complete it, thanks to the dedication of his educators and the accommodations team at LTI. We congratulate Jos\u00e9 for his incredible achievement. His dedication, hard work, and commitment to his bilingualism despite the obstacles he\u2019s faced have inspired us all!<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

LTI is committed to making ACTFL tests accessible to all learners. The AAPPL offers a full suite of WCAG 2.0 AA and ADA compliant features and has a formal process for requesting additional testing accommodations in line with IEP or 504 plans. Learn more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Contact us<\/a> to bring the AAPPL to your school or district.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We thank Catherine Ragozzino, Multilingual Instructional Coach for Secondary Schools at Meriden Public Schools, for sharing Jos\u00e9\u2019s inspiring story with us. Jos\u00e9 Nieves Roman was born in Isabella, Puerto Rico. He has been legally blind since birth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":3625,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[183],"tags":[80,409,411,230,410],"class_list":["post-3624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic","tag-aappl","tag-accessibility","tag-ada-compliance","tag-seal-of-biliteracy","tag-wcag"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Jose-Nieves-test-taking-e1716298980917.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3624"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5296,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3624\/revisions\/5296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}