The newly renovated Birmingham Adult Transition Program (BATP) building.
Photo courtesy of Birmingham Public Schools
Birmingham Public Schools is proud to announce the completion of a two-year-long renovation to the Birmingham Adult Transition Program (BATP) building. The BATP is a unique school for adults with mild cognitive impairments, autism, or other developmental disabilities between the ages of 18-26.
Open to the community, a formal ribbon cutting will take place on Tuesday, October 25, at 5:30 p.m.
Students attending the BATP must be recommended during their senior year of high school, have an IEP to participate, and not have taken their diploma upon the completion of high school. The program’s purpose is to provide continuing education in the areas of community access, pre-vocational skills and life skills that some students need beyond high school.
The renovation work was given the green light when the community voted to approve the district's $195 million bond in March 2020. Renee Ruiz, a special education supervisor for the district and the principal for the BATP, worked to keep the renovation process tightly connected to the unique needs of the students and staff who go to school and work in this building.
“This is a building that was badly in need of renovation. The physical layout of the building was hindering the work we do with this adult population of students,” Ruiz explained.
The BATP, formerly known as “The Annex,” had many functions prior to becoming a school building for adults with disabilities. Over the years, The Annex operated as a maintenance garage and storage facility. It also housed the district’s English Language Program and later housed Lincoln Street Academy, the district’s alternative high school. In 2004, the building was repurposed for the Adult Transition Program.
The renovation process started by gathering user stories. Students and staff were interviewed on what they wanted to see in the new building and how filling that need would improve student learning. One teacher said she would like “adequate space to work on activities of daily living such as cooking, practicing job skills, and laundry” so that “the students can experience an increased level of independence when they leave the program.”
The new BATP building houses eight classrooms with brand-new student furniture and fully adjustable and dimmable lighting. Special adult-sized regular and adaptive furniture was purchased to meet the needs of students. The new community room is a place where students can eat lunch, prepare food, wash and dry laundry, or practice adult living skills in the studio apartment that is attached to the community room. The new sensory room is a place where students can go to swing, rest, or interact with any of the new sensory equipment that was purchased specifically with autistic adults in mind. The building also houses several office spaces where therapists can work individually with a student or with a small group of students.
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