Zaraiyah Bell: honors, music and sprints at Cass Tech
DETROIT. Zaraiyah Bell is a 15-year-old sophomore at Cass Technical High School. She's blind, an honor student, a sprinter in the 100 and 200 meter dash, a wrestler, and a second soprano with perfect pitch who also plays piano.
She's performed at the Fox Theatre for Detroit Public Schools Community District's 57th annual An Evening of Fine Arts, and at the Campus Martius tree lighting downtown. Her grandfather attended Cass Tech too, singing in the school choir and playing piano and violin. Bell says piano helps her mental health, and she wants to bring music therapy to underprivileged teens.
The district's Exceptional Student Education program backs her with specialized instruction, orientation and mobility training, Braille transcription and assistive technology, staff she credits by name: teacher Candace Wilson, mobility specialist Mr. Pollock, paraprofessionals Ms. Cain and Ms. Hicks, and the Braille team of Ms. Davis and Ms. Terry.
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