SPRINGVILLE — Nebo School District's new school for students with special needs looks similar to any of its other schools — except for the sensory room.
It has a child's pool filled with colorful plastic balls, a beanbag and floormats.
Some children, particularly those who have autism, need to visit the room from time to time, and realign their feelings of touch, sound and sight so they will not be overwhelmed — or sometimes underwhelmed — in their regular classrooms, said the school's principal, Richard Ray.
The new Oakridge School at 780 S. 1350 East is adjacent to Springville High School and replaces the old Oakridge School on Birch Lane in Provo from which Nebo and Provo school districts jointly operated a special-needs education program.
The new building opened in June for a part-time summer session and has capacity to serve 36 students from age 6 to 22 with disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injuries, Down syndrome and seizure disorders. Thirty students now participate; some will spend part of the day at a traditional school.
"Most of the students have multiple disabilities," said Ray, adding that almost half of the students use wheelchairs.
The 8,000-square-foot Oak ridge School uses about one-third of the new building in which it is housed.
The remainder of the building is used as overflow classroom space for Springville High. Total building construction was $3 million, with the Oakridge portion costing $1 million. Money for construction came from Nebo School District's capital improvements budget, and district officials hope that a sale of the old Oakridge School will help with the new building's expense, Nebo Superintendent Chris Sorensen said.
Students are divided by age into older or younger classrooms. Students who are considered "medically fragile" are in a third classroom. There are three teachers, 14 aides, a school psychologist, an audiologist, a school nurse and a physical therapist.
Wendy Stoker teaches the older students and believes the education students receive at Oakridge has an impact on their lives.
"There's some days when I get really tired. But it's a challenge and I love what I do," she said.
E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com