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Daily Home - Graham: 'It's all about the children'
Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind is in the middle of a flurry of construction projects, and according to AIDB President Dr. Terry Graham, “It’s all about the children.
“We want to put our money where our children are.”
Consequently, all the buildings currently under construction or renovation on AIDB’s several campuses are dormitories or other buildings where students congregate. They are part of the “Living With Pride” campaign, begun two years ago to create quality facilities and an overall atmosphere of pride in one’s work and pride in one’s home.
“If you have children,” Graham said, “you know there is no greater love than the love you have for your children. You want to know your child is in an environment where he or she is going to be comfortable.”
Parents from around the state bring children to the school in Talladega to receive an education and training, at no cost to them, in how to live independently in spite of a physical handicap.
“The administration and the governing board are really on the same page when it comes to meeting the needs of children and adults,” Graham said Wednesday. “It’s about providing high-quality programs for children, and more-than-adequate facilities for children to live in.”
One building that is nearly completed is the 6,000-square-foot Independent Living Center on the campus of Alabama School for the Blind. The center, which was built with private funds, can house up to 12 students, and will provide a place where ASB’s high school juniors and seniors can gain the skills they need to live on their own when they go off to college or join the work force.
“They learn to shop, prepare meals, handle their own budget — all the things you and I take for granted,” Graham said. “We have some brilliant students, going out to UAB, Auburn or Jacksonville State, and the biggest challenge they face is how to live on their own and be independent.”
Before construction began on the new Independent Living Center, those skills were taught in an old house on-campus, but that house has been demolished.
Another big project AIDB has planned for the immediate future is a new student center on the Helen Keller School campus. While ASB serves blind students, and Alabama School for the Deaf serves deaf students, Helen Keller School serves students who — like Helen Keller, for whom the school is named — have multiple handicaps. They might be blind and deaf, or have cerebral palsy and be blind, or some other combination of handicaps.
The new student center, estimated to cost between $2 million and $2.5 million, will be one of the largest buildings built by AIDB. It will include a recreation center, a nurse’s station, a class for creative arts, and an amphitheater for plays and pageants.
“It’s something that we’ve never had on that campus before,” Graham said.
The student center at Helen Keller is one of the projects in the works to be funded with bond money from the state. Graham said $4.5 million already has been committed to AIDB, and another $4.5 million in discretionary funding is expected, but not a sure thing. They should know by the end of the year.
“If everything works out,” he said, “we should have about $9 million.”
Other buildings being built or renovated in the coming year include a new girls’ dorm on ASD campus, to replace Ganey Hall, which is more than 70 years old; Taylor Hall, which will be gutted and re-done; plus two other dorms and several remodeling projects.
Most of AIDB’s operating budget is provided by the state, Graham said. The institute has to request funding every year from the state Legislature, just like the universities do, for 90 percent of their budget. The rest comes from private donations and federal funds. Graham said AIDB has enjoyed consistent support from state legislators, as well as from Sen. Richard Shelby and Rep. Mike Rogers.
Rogers visited Helen Keller School Tuesday to talk to the AIDB Board of Trustees about $200,000 in funding for a new program to train interpreters for the deaf, which has been approved by the House of Representatives and now goes to the Senate. The program would be a cooperative effort between AIDB, which has resources to provide the training, and colleges and universities around the state, which would give college credit to students who take the course.
Including the nine regional centers situated throughout Alabama, AIDB serves more than 12,000 blind and deaf people, with about 400 residential students — 3 years old and up — living on-campus at ASD, ASB or Helen Keller School. E.H. Gentry vocational school and Alabama Industries for the Blind round out the full-service program provided in Talladega to the blind and deaf by AIDB.
At the annual Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, the trustees gave a unanimous vote of confidence in Graham, calling him “the best president AIDB has ever had.” They pointed out that he has been able to save back more than $2 million from operating funds to put toward some of the construction projects.
“We try to be conservative,” Graham said later, “and only spend our money on things that have an impact on the children. That sometimes means I have to be conservative, cautious, austere, and not spend money on anything frivolous.
“We’ve built our fund balance up over the last few years. If something happened, say something happened to the economy, we want to at least have a fund balance to operate for three months.
“Also, we can occasionally build a new building.”
Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind is in the middle of a flurry of construction projects, and according to AIDB President Dr. Terry Graham, “It’s all about the children.
“We want to put our money where our children are.”
Consequently, all the buildings currently under construction or renovation on AIDB’s several campuses are dormitories or other buildings where students congregate. They are part of the “Living With Pride” campaign, begun two years ago to create quality facilities and an overall atmosphere of pride in one’s work and pride in one’s home.
“If you have children,” Graham said, “you know there is no greater love than the love you have for your children. You want to know your child is in an environment where he or she is going to be comfortable.”
Parents from around the state bring children to the school in Talladega to receive an education and training, at no cost to them, in how to live independently in spite of a physical handicap.
“The administration and the governing board are really on the same page when it comes to meeting the needs of children and adults,” Graham said Wednesday. “It’s about providing high-quality programs for children, and more-than-adequate facilities for children to live in.”
One building that is nearly completed is the 6,000-square-foot Independent Living Center on the campus of Alabama School for the Blind. The center, which was built with private funds, can house up to 12 students, and will provide a place where ASB’s high school juniors and seniors can gain the skills they need to live on their own when they go off to college or join the work force.
“They learn to shop, prepare meals, handle their own budget — all the things you and I take for granted,” Graham said. “We have some brilliant students, going out to UAB, Auburn or Jacksonville State, and the biggest challenge they face is how to live on their own and be independent.”
Before construction began on the new Independent Living Center, those skills were taught in an old house on-campus, but that house has been demolished.
Another big project AIDB has planned for the immediate future is a new student center on the Helen Keller School campus. While ASB serves blind students, and Alabama School for the Deaf serves deaf students, Helen Keller School serves students who — like Helen Keller, for whom the school is named — have multiple handicaps. They might be blind and deaf, or have cerebral palsy and be blind, or some other combination of handicaps.
The new student center, estimated to cost between $2 million and $2.5 million, will be one of the largest buildings built by AIDB. It will include a recreation center, a nurse’s station, a class for creative arts, and an amphitheater for plays and pageants.
“It’s something that we’ve never had on that campus before,” Graham said.
The student center at Helen Keller is one of the projects in the works to be funded with bond money from the state. Graham said $4.5 million already has been committed to AIDB, and another $4.5 million in discretionary funding is expected, but not a sure thing. They should know by the end of the year.
“If everything works out,” he said, “we should have about $9 million.”
Other buildings being built or renovated in the coming year include a new girls’ dorm on ASD campus, to replace Ganey Hall, which is more than 70 years old; Taylor Hall, which will be gutted and re-done; plus two other dorms and several remodeling projects.
Most of AIDB’s operating budget is provided by the state, Graham said. The institute has to request funding every year from the state Legislature, just like the universities do, for 90 percent of their budget. The rest comes from private donations and federal funds. Graham said AIDB has enjoyed consistent support from state legislators, as well as from Sen. Richard Shelby and Rep. Mike Rogers.
Rogers visited Helen Keller School Tuesday to talk to the AIDB Board of Trustees about $200,000 in funding for a new program to train interpreters for the deaf, which has been approved by the House of Representatives and now goes to the Senate. The program would be a cooperative effort between AIDB, which has resources to provide the training, and colleges and universities around the state, which would give college credit to students who take the course.
Including the nine regional centers situated throughout Alabama, AIDB serves more than 12,000 blind and deaf people, with about 400 residential students — 3 years old and up — living on-campus at ASD, ASB or Helen Keller School. E.H. Gentry vocational school and Alabama Industries for the Blind round out the full-service program provided in Talladega to the blind and deaf by AIDB.
At the annual Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, the trustees gave a unanimous vote of confidence in Graham, calling him “the best president AIDB has ever had.” They pointed out that he has been able to save back more than $2 million from operating funds to put toward some of the construction projects.
“We try to be conservative,” Graham said later, “and only spend our money on things that have an impact on the children. That sometimes means I have to be conservative, cautious, austere, and not spend money on anything frivolous.
“We’ve built our fund balance up over the last few years. If something happened, say something happened to the economy, we want to at least have a fund balance to operate for three months.
“Also, we can occasionally build a new building.”