History of Rise
1974
The Rural Infant Stimulation Environment (RISE) was founded at the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa as an early intervention program for young children with physical disabilities.
1977
Three years later, the RISE program expanded to serve children with Down syndrome and other developmental delays in addition to serving children with physical disabilities. Integrated therapies were also added to early intervention services as part of the curriculum at this time.
1995
RISE expanded to Texas after John and Wendy Poston sought to replicate the program in Alabama, thus founding The Ashford Rise School of Dallas. They had recently become parents of a child with Down syndrome and were inspired by the success of the Alabama model.
2000-2003
More Rise schools began opening around Texas and even Colorado, all led by families who realized their communities had a lack of accessible education options for their children with developmental delays.
2023-2024
The Rise School San Antonio becomes the latest addition to the Rise family, founded by Carter and Taylor English after the birth of their daughter, Isabelle. In addition to wanting the best early intervention services possible for sweet Isabelle, they were motivated to make these resources accessible to anyone who needed them in the community. Carter and Taylor are beyond excited to help write this next chapter in Rise’s history.
