A New Home for Birchtree

2010 brings exciting changes for Birchtree's students. Starting today, students in our special educational day program for children and youth with autism will no longer go to school in a small, overcrowded school building in Portsmouth. This morning, students arrived ready to learn in a much larger, newly renovated facility at 2064 Woodbury Avenue in neighboring Newington, New Hampshire.

Birchtree's new facility offers three times the space, which will allow our organization to accommodate the growing number of children and youth with autism who need our organization's services.

In their new school, students found larger classrooms with more space for group activities, family visits, "typical peer" interaction, and more.

Today's Adapted Physical Education classes took place in our new gym. Students enjoyed their favorite swings and play equipment in a much larger space, with more room for active play, group games, and physical exercise.

Students also began to explore our new Life Skills facilities. Students will be able to learn and practice the skills of daily living in a fully equipped kitchen and laundry. In this photo, Steven is using his alternative and augmentative communication device to name the appliances in the Life Skills kitchen.

It was a very busy day at Birchtree, but a remarkably successful one. Many students left their school at the end of the day with smiles on their faces, ready to return for another day of learning tomorrow.

Thank you to the Town of Newington and the many generous individuals and businesses who helped our organization make the move to this wonderful new location:

Realtor Gail Hughes

Attorneys Dan Hoefle & Jane Ferrini

Architects Bruce Dicker & Mike Parma of JSA, Incorporated

Dick Johnson of Pine Brook Corporation

Newington Building Inspector Charles Smart

Newington Fire Chief Roy Greenleaf

Newington Town Planner Tom Morgan

Newington Town Selectmen, Board Members & Staff

Bruce Dicker of JSA, Incorporated, was the lead architect on this project. Mr. Dicker designed economical interior renovations to the facility to suit our students’ special needs. Dick Johnson of Pine Brook Corporation ensured that those renovations concluded on budget and on time. Thanks to the hard work of Pine Brook and some wonderful subcontractors, we were able to move in to our beautiful new building over the winter break.

To read a Portsmouth Herald article about our new facility, click here. For more information about The Birchtree Center's new home, click here. For directions and maps to our new location, click here.

Happy New Year!