The goal of a 2-year vision teacher training project is to provide the coursework instruction and student teaching opportunities necessary for Oregon certification as teacher of the visually impaired. The program was designed in response to several conditions affecting services for visually impaired students living in seven eastern Oregon counties: (1) nationwide shortage of teachers for the visually impaired; (2) population sparsity--50 visually impaired students scattered within 28,000 square miles; (3) geographic and climatic barriers affecting teacher recruitment and retention; (4) lack of certified vision teacher applicants from Oregon universities or out-of-state programs; and (5) absence of locally accessible certification and training programs. Coursework instruction and supervision are provided through a cooperative effort between Portland State University vision department staff and Eastern Oregon Regional Program vision teacher staff. Funding is provided in part by a cooperative planning council grant from the Oregon Department of Education and local district contributions. Project participants are certified teachers desiring to change specialization fields, e.g., resource room teachers whose positions have been eliminated through the reduction in force process. Local access to coursework has eliminated the geographical, financial, and climatic barriers that have previously prevented teachers from retraining in the field of vision. (JHZ)