It’s been well over a decade since educator Bill Sakoulas graduated from our Master of Disability Studies program, but the things he learned and the people he met have have continued to impact him.

Bill, who has Greek heritage, has always loved learning, having seen how the Second World War disrupted his parents’ education and limited their opportunities. ‘I learned to value education from a young age, and my parents instilled in me a compassion for other people,’ he says.

Before undertaking the Master’s program, Bill studied special education and English as a Second Language teaching, working with students with disabilities and from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. He graduated from our program—provided in partnership with Macquarie University—in 2013, specialising in education for students who are blind or have low vision.

He says that a highlight for him was having open access to the expertise and insights of the lecturers at NextSense Institute. ‘We could engage in very deep conversations about current trends,’ he says. He also enjoyed the practical aspects of the course, such as creating tactile materials and learning braille and about orientation and mobility.

Bill has now been teaching students with vision loss for close to 15 years, and is Assistant Principal of the NSW Education Blacktown Vision team. The team supports students who are blind or have low vision in more than 40 public schools in the greater Western Sydney area, providing personalised learning support including teaching braille and technology skills. They also work with classroom teachers to upskill them to support their students.

Teaching children with vision loss is a highly specialised field and the nature of itinerant support work means that usually teachers work independently in schools around the state. Bill has worked hard to bring vision teachers together to network and share ideas and concerns around policy and teaching practice.

‘It's been positive because many of [the teachers] had similar ideas and had common concerns, but because we've been independent, it was beneficial to come together to discuss and to see how we could move forward as a group,’ he says. He has also organised state-wide professional learning sessions involving NSW government schools.

Bill also maintains that families play a vital role in supporting children who are blind or have low vision by being actively involved and engaged in their education and ensuring they have the technology and skills they need to succeed.

In January 2025, Bill was awarded the Frances Gentle Award for Teacher with an Established Career at the South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment (SPEVI) Conference, named after NextSense Institute researcher and lecturer Dr Frances Gentle, who taught him.

Bill says he felt ‘very honoured, but at the same time, in a good sense, I felt humbled because I know that there are many, many gifted vision teachers out there.’

Seeing the long-term difference he has made in students’ lives is one of the things Bill loves most about what he does. ‘Those who are committed to it end up having a very high quality of life, being able to access things like print and social media, and independently get around because they have learnt orientation and mobility [skills],’ he says.

Since graduating, Bill has encouraged other colleagues to take the course, and is enjoying seeing the next generation of vision teachers grow. Why does he recommend it? ‘The lecturers are specialists in their field and leaders in the areas in which they lecture. You’re getting a top-class education in sensory impairment,’ he says.