Students, start your pedals! Adaptive Bike Day opens a world of lifetime fun

Spaulding High School students enjoy a day on the track during Adaptive Bike Day on May 13. (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - Spaulding High School students in the GOST and LITE Programs enjoyed a day at the track during Adaptive Bike Day in conjunction with Northeast Passage from UNH held earlier this month.

The GOST and LITE Programs help create working relationships with the local community designed to introduce students to employment, civic, and recreational opportunities in the area. With support offered by the School and District Administration, students are assisted in building lifelong habits that will enable them to live with as much independence as possible as they transition into adulthood.

Northeast Passage provides recreational therapy programming, at Spaulding High School, through their TREK program, which stands for Therapeutic Recreation Empowering Kids.

The sessions are designed to work with parents, students, administrators, physical education, special education, and classroom teachers, as well as other related service providers, to ensure equal opportunity for students with physical and developmental disabilities.

Through this long-standing relationship with Northeast Passage, the Rochester School District is able to provide participating programs with lifelong skills designed to introduce students and families to the benefits of recreational therapy.

The half-mile mile loop around the baseball field became an active track on May 13 where 20 students had the opportunity to be introduced to hand-powered cycles, three-wheel recumbent bikes, assistive motorized bicycles as well as traditional two-wheel bikes. The highlight of the day was members of the Rochester Police Department joining the students on the loop and riding with them.

The Spaulding High School GOST and LITE programs worked closely with Officer Andrew Jackson from Rochester Police Department, Mike Reilly and his staff from the Department of Buildings and Grounds, Lauren Krans from the Rec Department, Principal Justin Roy of Spaulding High School, as well as Director of Student Services Christiane Allison and Superintendent Kyle Repucci of the Rochester School Department.

SHS students who served as student mentors include Grace Beaulieu, Ashley Trogler, Nick Gagnon, Issac Lapointe, Hannah Jacobs, Faith Merril, Chris Castro, and Colette Seavey.