Graduations at the University of Alabama aren’t just for people seeking a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree. Once a year, in a small, emotionally significant ceremony, preschool-age children mark their own milestone at UA: graduating from the RISE Center.
“Our graduation ceremony is one of our most cherished traditions at RISE,” Assistant Director Riane Sullivan said. “It’s our time for our families and our children to celebrate the progress that they’ve made over the years that they’ve been here.”
Established in 1974, the RISE Center serves traditionally developing young as well as those with varying learning abilities. Based at the Stallings Center on UA’s campus, RISE’s staff includes special education teachers, a music therapist, a physical therapist, a speech and language pathologist, an occupational therapist and nurses who provide medical services to children who need them. The center serves children from infancy to five years old.
Stephen Findley’s daughter, Ryan, graduated from the RISE Center in July.
“We feel very fortunate that our children are loved and so supported. The people here at RISE, they ask about all of our children,” Findley said. “They just feel very vested in our success and where we are in life and sort of our journey through this.”
The RISE Center offers a blend of early childhood education, special education, integrated therapy and child development. The center also conducts public outreach work, helps inform community-based agencies, and carries out research intended to improve early childhood education at local, state and national levels.
Depending on their needs, children attend RISE from a single year to as long as four years. Their days of learning culminate in the graduation celebration. The students receive diplomas rolled up and tied with red ribbon. They also take part in short performances over recorded musical tracks. Graduation is the top of an arc built on lots of effort and dedication, Sullivan said.
“They have worked very hard over the last few months getting ready for this graduation ceremony,” she said. “They’re very excited to show their families their routines that they’ve learned, the songs that they’ve learned, and it’s just a time for them to be proud of themselves, celebrate each other, and have a great time with their friends.”
Watching from the audience, Stephen Findley felt the significance of the moment and the RISE Center’s role in helping his daughter learn and grow.
“To see the milestones that Ryan has reached because of the time investment that RISE has made in her, makes it extra special. For her to graduate, it feels like a team win. Like, we as the parents, and then the people at RISE come along beside us and just help support us,” he said.
RISE Center graduates go on to kindergarten at elementary schools in the Tuscaloosa area. Each year, the program serves 90 to 100 children. RISE estimates more than 1,000 young people have graduated from the program since its creation half a century ago.
The RISE Center is part of UA’s College of Human Environmental Sciences.