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Berkeley teacher honored with kindness award for helping blind student
Shannon Houston, a music teacher at Longfellow Middle School in Berkeley, received the Chris Kindness Award for transcribing sheet music into Braille for a blind student.
BERKELEY, Calif. - An East Bay music teacher is being recognized for going above and beyond to help a blind student read music.
Berkeley teacher wins kindness award
Why you should care:
Berkeley teacher Shannon Houston honored with transcribing music into Braille. Oct. 8, 2026
Shannon Houston, a music teacher at Longfellow Middle School in Berkeley, received the Chris Kindness Award on Thursday.
His student, Kai Wang, who is blind, nominated him for the award, describing how Houston learned how to transcribe sheet music into Braille so he could fully participate in class.
"I've gotten to learn how to do Braille and complete Braille music for him in electronic format and he is able to access that every single day," Houston said at a school wide ceremony to recognize his award. "And he's able to participate in our orchestra, no problem. "
Outside his full-time teaching role, Houston founded the New Apollo Youth Symphony Orchestra, a nonprofit dedicated to making music education accessible to all students, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds.
‘Never lowered expectations’
Why you should care:
Students at Longfellow Middle School in Berkeley watch teacher Shannon Houston win kindness award. Oct. 8, 2026
In his nomination letter for the award, Kai described how he's been a student of Houston's, and said his teacher "never lowered his expectations or made me ‘just play by ear.’"
Not only did Houston transcribe music into Braille for him, but Kai said his teacher also played and recorded his viola part in every piece the orchestra played, so he could hear it more clearly and memorize patterns.
"None of this was part of his job description," Kai wrote. "But he does it quietly and consistently, every day. He is probably the only music teacher in the country who offers this level of support to a blind student."
The Chris Kindness Award is named after a beloved preschool teacher who died from cancer. The program recognizes someone every month for their kindness and awards the recipient a $1,000 prize.
UC Berkeley Haas School of Business professor Alan Ross started the initiative based on his belief that simple acts of kindness start within the community and can change the world.
The Source: Information for this story comes from Kai Wang's nomination letter and an interview with teacher Shannon Houston.