Students daily classroom ritual turns into end of the school year field trip

DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — Students in an Austin Middle School program have developed a special interest from looking out their classroom window every day.

“The window faces the fire station across the street,” Tina Terry with Decatur City Schools Special Services said. “No matter what they’re doing, they’ll jump and run to the window so they can see them.”

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Students watch the fire trucks drive by as they head out on calls. On Thursday, the students took a trip to the fire station across the street, bringing an activity from the classroom to the real world.

“Doing something like this means a lot to them to be able to share their story and have the experience,” Austin Middle School Special Education Teacher Lindsay Mercier said.

Mercier’s students have different learning abilities. She said she hopes to create learning opportunities based on their special interests.

“We really want to give them the community experience,” Mercier said. “This gives them the chance to see what is happening in our community that they may not get the chance to see every single day. This is something they enjoyed and we wanted to give them the opportunity.”

Lt. Brandon Sivley with Decatur Fire and Rescue heard about the class’s special interest and invited them across the street for a day of hands-on learning.

“They actually saw the guys go out on a call and so they got to see them donning their gear and putting it on,” Sivley said. “Then they actually got to wear the gear too, so they just got kind of got a good sense of what we do every day.”

The students are a part of Decatur City School’s Achieve, Inspire, Motivate (AIM) program.

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