For years, Central’s program for students with intellectual disabilities, the Alternative Curriculum Program, was separated from the rest of the school.  One hallway off the gym with no natural light or bathrooms of its own had been their delegated space for many years.  While spacious, the separation made getting to elective classes, bathrooms, and lunch inconvenient, as well as cutting off interaction with other students.   

“I feel like a lot of people probably didn’t know about these students.  Even if students had seen the ACP kids in the past, they probably know very little about them,” ACP teacher Lindsay Rosenthal said. For example, I personally did not know that there are about thirty ACP students at Central each year, all of whom earn a diploma with the same number of credits as everyone else. 

However, several classrooms on the first floor were remodeled specifically for these students this past summer.  Nicknamed “The ACP Suites,” these rooms  have all the amenities of a normal classroom, but also some qualities of a home, such as a kitchen, and laundry machines.  “Our old room only had a microwave. Now we can actually cook in an oven and do more of these life skills,” Rosenthal said. These life skills are the priority in the ACP program, where students are not headed on the traditional academic pathway. 

Many students’ favorite part of the Suites is the sensory room which contains fun chairs, lights and even a hammock for when they need to take a minute to reset.  All the furniture is specifically chosen to be stimulating in a way that is soothing to these students, such as chairs that rock or roll.  Such a space is needed as the change was not easy.  

“I didn’t like it at first,” senior ACP student Peyton Williams said. 

Just the chance to walk through the hallways alongside other kids is a big change.  So much contact with strangers prepares these students for public spaces outside of school.   

“Just learning to be around other kids and maneuver the hallway. That we didn’t have downstairs being in our hallway all day,” Rosenthal said.   

Some ACP students know students outside of their class from unified PE or sports, so seeing them in the hallways is a bright spot in their day.    

“They get excited when other people say hi to them,” Rosenthal said. 

Simple tasks have also become more empowering with the move.  “I can send kids to the restroom on their own as opposed to the gym lobby where we had to escort them,” Rosenthal said. 

“I feel like last year we were trapped down there,” sophomore ACP student Markell Buckley said.   

Now with large, windowed classrooms, it seems the sun may have come out for these students.  While the Suites were a long time coming, their installation has made integrating the ACP program a real benefit for students.   

Correction: This article previously misstated the name of the ACP program. It is alternative curriculum program.