Disabled adults find new place to learn after high school in Tri-Cities
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- New Kennewick center offers education for adults with intellectual disabilities.
- Program emphasizes life skills, arts and social development to lifelong learners.
- Center enrolls adults 18+, flexible attendance, accepts state funding.
The stars aligned when Pamela Hogan received that message.
A fellow member of the Tri-Cities’ down syndrome community included a link to Beautiful Day Learning Center, a new small-group school for adults with intellectual disabilities that was set to open in Kennewick.
Hogan, 75, of Richland, thought it would be perfect for her daughter, Melissa Sprague, 45, who lives with the genetic condition. Since graduating from high school in 2000, Sprague hasn’t had much schooling but she’s definitely found her space in the arts community and with Special Olympics.
Sprague was there for the center’s first day open on Monday, Feb. 2.
Her thoughts?
“I feel like hugging the program,” she told the Tri-City Herald. “I love the teachers. They’re the best because they keep me busy.”
Beautiful Day Learning Center hopes to fill a growing need in the Tri-Cities to furnish intellectually disabled adults with quality post-secondary education, and help them continue to develop social and life skills.
There are social opportunities for young adults, but there are few educational opportunities in the region. About one-third of all U.S. young adults with an intellectual disability are less likely to have post-secondary education opportunities or find suitable employment.
The new Kennewick center is unique in that It's led by an experienced special education teacher, it seeks to focus on life beyond school and is grounded in human-centered learning. It’s hosting an open house 4-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 12, at its space at 5917 West Clearwater Ave., Building B, in Kennewick.
Lifting up lifelong learners
Beautiful Day’s founder, director and lead instructor, Julie Sumsion, is a former special education and math teacher who worked 11 years at Desert Hills Middle School.
She has “big dreams” for this new center, and hopes to eventually grow out of its 875-square-foot abode. She hopes to build out their programs in similar fashion to the Alyssa Burnett Adult Life Center in Bothell.
They have the capacity to serve about eight capable, well-behaved young adults.
She says a learning “cliff” exists for special education students after they graduate. Washington’s public schools allow students receiving special education to continue receiving instruction until they are 21, and recently extended it to the age of 22.
“There is a real fear in kids’ parents about what happens next,” she said. “Nobody should be done learning when you’re 21.”
She says all students deserve the chance to keep developing their skills, develop their self-esteem, explore new interests and experience the joys of lifelong learning. This is what she hopes students take away.
Sumsion’s passion for this work stems from her middle child, Aidan, 23, who lives with down syndrome and is a student at Beautiful Day.
The year after Aidan graduated from high school, the family cycled through eight care providers and struggled to find someone to help their child during work days. She enjoys movies, yoga, dancing and swimming.
“It’s just a high-turnover job... Every time a care provider would quit, it would break her heart. It takes her a long time to make friends. It was just a long, hard year,” Sumsion said.
But she knew other families were facing the same struggles they were going through with their child. Sumsion and her husband had talked a few years about opening an adult learning center before ultimately diving head first into the opportunity.
Courses and funding
Beautiful Day is not a bridge between high school and community college. Sumsion said many of these students are capable of learning and making growth academically, but would not thrive in that environment.
The center is open 9 a.m. to noon, Mondays through Thursdays. They offer courses in reading, writing, art, mathematics, health and exercise, nutrition and music. There’s no deadlines; students can stay as long as they want, and attendance is flexible.
In order to be admitted, students must be at least 18 and be post-high school, have an intellectual disability, and be able to participate without one-on-one supports.
Beautiful Day accepts state respite funding and life skills funding.
Hogan, the mother of student Sprague, said she can see her daughter building friendships, continuing her learning journey, relearning mathematics, and finding new activities and social events.
She says that “now is a great time” for her daughter to “get more learning.”
“We’re just happy they opened it and that we heard about it. That was just by luck,” Hogan said.
This story was originally published February 9, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
