Transition Program students make friends and learn valuable life skills

VANCOUVER –  In a first-of-its-kind event, students from seven schools across multiple districts in southwest Washington gathered at Bagley Park in Vancouver to try out bicycles with adaptive features and learn bike safety.  The students attend their districts’ transition programs which allow special needs students to remain in school until they turn 21.  

Outdoors for All (https://outdoorsforall.org), a non-profit organization based in Seattle, brought a trailer full of three-wheel adaptive bikes to Vancouver for the event.  For many students, this was their first time on a bicycle.  The goal was to teach students life skills and demonstrate the value of outdoor recreation.  Outdoors for All set up a course in the parking lot for students to pedal around, and offered as much help as students needed to get going.

Approximately 100 students from the Vancouver, Evergreen, Camas, Washougal, and Stevenson school districts participated.  

In Vancouver Public Schools, the Gateway to Adult Transition Education (GATE) House and the GATE Annex (https://gate.vansd.org/) teach skills for everyday living and skills to be productive in the workplace.

Outdoors for All is a non-profit whose mission statement is “To enrich the quality of life for children and adults with disabilities through outdoor recreation.”  In addition to cycling, they offer other outdoor activities for people of all abilities.

Information provided by the Vancouver School District.